don't worry Ddobin, they will sometimes take longer to get back to you, so don't fret till you get the email - some people wait over a month before hearing anything.:ok:

it took them over a month to get back to me, only after i emailed asking if there was any updates, the initial response was that i have been shortlisted for the 2/3rd round however, they cannot give me a interview date..
only just received the email today;

anyone doing 2+3rd stage on the 15/16 November?

Hey All

Crwjerk's fact is correct, and part of my point was to convey to everyone that living accomodations will be much smaller than they are used to, as money for property in HK does not buy the same amount it would in another country - my example of the lower class family in toronto is one instance. It is important for any prospective cadet to understand and realize that this will affect their lifestyles, as having a spacious accomodation maybe important to some, and perhaps less so for others. I only ask that we also understand that the price of property affects everyone and anyone of any profession, including doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. And to consider what is important to you, The salary for this position is what it is, for some it maybe too low, for some it maybe more than enough depending on which part of the world you are from and what kind of lifestyle you are used, will dictate how you ultimately perceive it.

Simply said, if you want to live in a 1000 sq ft condo, to supporting your spouse and children, with the lifestyle you are used to at home (driving in a sedan everywhere, eating imported foods) it will be hard for an expat SO even with the housing allowance, and unrealistic for cadets without it. The same salary however, will definitely afford you that elsewhere (definitely able in Canada, Thailand is another). This is not to say that the cadet with a family should give up because they wouldn't be able to support their family, but rather to warn candidates from western countries (again particularly Canada, and US) that the standards of living are going to be difficult at the beginning of this career, once again because of the housing allowance. But with the allowance or not, the standards of living simply are not the same, and thus cannot be compared.

My final note with that regards is that Hong Kong is not for everybody, even though there is something for everybody. This has been true even since the A scale existed for pilots, where as for some the money offered by the A scale was enough to offset the the price of leaving home, but others whom value being at home or were not at all attracted to the lifestyle in Hong Kong, then no amount of money would have lured them to make the move.

Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into, money being one factor, but it is not the only factor that affects lifestyle. I've decided to throw in some links as to further understand the real costs of living in Hong Kong. To know if Hong kong is for you or not is important, because the career at cathay is only worth it if it is a career and not a stepping stone.

Some of these links may be useful to provide a look into what you're monthly expenses may be. Once again, good luck to everyone who is pursuing this program, and all the best to those that decide that this is not for them.

All These links can be found with a simply google search (i.e. gym membership cost in HK). The only thing that does not have it's own website are groceries. I don't believe it is possible to understand the culture and setup of street groceries markets other than to actually see them. However park n shop is one of the largest chain supermarkets in HK and offer some insight into the price of food (http://www1.parknshop.com).
On a funny note with regards to groceries: pork is another meat that is relatively much more expensive than surrounding countries (again Canada, US). It was actually worthwhile when my grandmother would go back to our little town in mainland China to buy a large bag of pork feet (a chinese cuisine) cook and preserve them and bring it back to Hong Kong so she didn't have to pay Hong Kong prices... again just a different standard of living.


Here are just some links to start you off on your way.:
Internet, television, and telecommunications
??????
<- pccw is one of Hong Kong's largest provider of broadband and telecommunications, there are many many others at competition makes prices cheap. But pccw is a good start to figuring out your monthly tv/internet/phone bill

www.fortress.com.hk
<-fortress is a large chain franchaise for electronic and home appliance products, again there are MANY smaller dealers that you may find cheaper deals. As some apartments may not be furnished, this would be a good site to look into getting started in basic home appliances

To understand a bit more about the utilities and basic services in HK such as gas,electricity,water expatfocus.com has several links:
Hong Kong - Utilities (Electricity, Gas, Water)


and finally here is another excellent post from a internet blogger with regards to living in HK as an expat.
Cost of Living in Hong Kong

and to add to that, your electricity bill will be quite expensive. This mainly due to the hot and humid climate here, which means the will be at least one A/C unit running 24/7 (living room in the day and bedroom at night) for at least 6 months of the year. My last bill was $2500 for 2 months for a small flat. It also gets surprisingly cold in January and February (considering we are in tropical latitudes) and the apartments are concrete and glass, so no insulation; which results in heaters being on in the winter. The last couple of years the govt has subsidised, but unfortunately that has finished.

Anyone know whether Cathay have a min or max BMI? Or min or max weight? Obviously your height has to be above 160cm just wondered if anyone knew about their BMI requirements? If they have any?

Hey,
i'm guessing the BMI requirements, at least at this stage, would be that you lie within what is considered underwieght and overweight according to BMI calculations, with a more thorough grilling at the real medical.

Does this sound about right to those who have already been through the process?

AP_797

During the selection process you do one comprehensive company medical in which they will assess your physical condition, and until then they probably don't look at any medical-related items. You will be grilled in the company medical about almost everything related to your health.

The questions are not overly difficult but the test will be challenging due to the limited time available. The actual details of this test have already been covered before in this thread, so check it out. If you are keen on preparing for the numeracy test, just do some practice questions that you can find in typical numerical assessments for graduate management jobs.

Well I sent them an email because its been 2 weeks or so since my Stage 1 interviews and still no word of a result from them and got a response back saying they could not tell me as they still have to do a medical screening which is part of the stage 1 process so I assume that is the bit of paper with the 6 questions on it.

Flight Grading
 

Anyone heading down to Adelaide for Flight Grading beginning on 13th November?

Stage 1
 

Well I got rejected after Stage 1 day in Hong Kong.

Do some of you guys believe they would reject people to see if they would reapply another time? There were experienced guys as well who got rejected, and they thought they did pretty good on Stage 1?

I will however reapply later, continue improving myself and complete my PPL and start ATPL theory shortly.

I now understand that I probably did not meet the high standards they are looking for. Somehow I will have to prove to them that I will be worth another round :)

And another thing, I did a lot of reading but perhaps on the wrong things, read up on my aircraft (c172) and on the company (everything to the price of the stocks last year!) and got cornered anyway :) (they did not ask one question about cx or the aicraft)

They will find a way .. :)

However I enjoyed the experience very much and wish all the others the best of luck!

Malov
 

You normally get another shot at the cadetship if you failed one attempt, so I would think that a rejection naturally means that you did not make the grade this time, but you are welcome to try again. I would advise you to prepare substantially for your re-application though; the more the better. It is only logical, given the sheer number of fresh applications received every year. Hope this makes sense.

I don't think you read up on the wrong things at all... though if those are the only things you studied then I would think you didn't read enough!

Good luck with your re-application. It took me 2 years of preparation leading up to my second attempt at the CX cadetship... try hard, and never give up! :ok:

Hi Malov,
sorry to hear you didnt make it to stage 2, i'm not sure how they chose people as its a pretty difficult assessment with both experienced and non experienced candidates being assessed on pretty much the same thing.

When did you have your assessment for stage 1? I ask this as I know that London stage 1 results havent been released yet so it might give an indication of what kind of timescale to expect? Has anyone heard from CX re. london assessments?

Good luck with your future app and flying!

holdmetight: I understand what you are saying and I also know very well now what my weak areas are and what I should be focusing on:)

ap_797: I got the mail before two weeks had passed.

Also, if I should complete the ATPL theory before my next attempt then I would assume the interview questions will be of a totally different character as well - so I will only have to study harder and use all of my time ahead to really nail the interview the next time around. And try to get a good pass grade on all the subjects!

If I should be rejected the second time I will only be well prepared for any other interviews with other airlines don`t you think? :)

Malov, what did they ask you on stage I?
I wasn't questioned about the aircrafts I've flown in the first interview - I think they will grill me on that in my next stage-, but they did ask a lot CX-related questions. CX-related questions, JKI booklet questions, and some ATPL stuff.

Malov, what did they ask you on stage I?
I wasn't questioned about the aircrafts I've flown in the first interview - I think they will grill me on that in my next stage-, but they did ask a lot CX-related questions. CX-related questions, JKI booklet questions, and some ATPL stuff.

I am under the impression now after having had some thoughts on the interview that I read on things I thought I was supposed to know and maybe was asked, rather than the things I should have known and read through :)

They asked me everything, as soon as you have answered a question they fire one right back - and if I post some of the questions here I will only mislead others and I don`t want to do that. Just know the stuff thoroughly, especially the JKI and any CX-related stuff of course ;)

Hey Mavlov, yeh I had my interview 2 weeks ago and havent heard a thing. So they dont contact you via phone?

coobg002, no I got it through mail only

coobg002, after stage I you will get a mail saying that you passed or failed. If you passed they will call you a couple days/weeks later, asking of date X and Y suit you to come to HK. Than you'll receive another mail which will give you more explanation, and they send the tickets to HK via fedex.

ah touche, cheers guys

CX assesments
 

Hi.Its almost year end. It has been almost 8 months since CX held their interviews in Africa(Jo'burg South Africa to be exact).I applied in June this Year but no feedback yet though Im still patient.I was wondering if it's possible for CX to have more overseas assesments before end year.

hey drone, i don't suspect anyone here knows Cathay's international assessment schedule - unless they have been invited and are so kind to post on here details about it. No one really knows what their process or criteria is for selecting the next area for interviews. So they may or may not conduct anymore international interviews by year end.

you could always email Cathay and ask, but they probably won't say anyway.

it really is just a matter of waiting patiently and hopefully that email turns up one day! :ok:

CX tend to wait until they have a meaningful number of potential interview candidates in a given geographical location before sending out the invites for people outside HK.

As for which questions get asked at which interviews - there is definitely no set pattern here - in my experience, the interviewer will tend to basically make up the questions as they go along (although they probably have a basic idea of the areas they want to probe before you walk in).

They may create a new question based on the answer you gave to a previous question ... no one interview seems to be the same.

Hey guys, can someone PM me the email address for Cathay? I cant seem to find it on their website.

I applied back in Jan but havnt heard anything back yet.

Cheers!

greentea, the email to use is the one they used to inform you that they have recieved your application - back when you first applied and a return confirmation email was sent :ok:


roxy chick, as far as i am aware, normally via email, but if you're in Hong Kong, they may ring you.

Hey guys,
I was wondeirng if anyone could shed some light on how detailed the flight planning excercise actually is and what level of prep is required for lower hours pilots? Do you get a calculator and do you need to do know how to convert units during the test eg. from mph to nm per hour etc?

I understand that during the excercise each candidate is left to work out the math involved by themselves, what sort of math does this encompass?

thanks all!

ap_797
 

The flight planning exercise is actually quite easy and candidates with no experience or knowledge in flight planning can do just as well as a jet pilot with an ATPL. Those with flying experience will find that the exercise does not resemble a real-life flight planning exercise in any way. So leave everything outside the door when you walk in, and enjoy yourself during the exercise.

I am not going to divulge too much information on the actual exercise itself. What I can say is that you will work with another candidate in finding the best route for a flight from A to B. You will be given a list of factors and constraints that will affect your calculations, such as flight times, expected fuel burn-off, turn-around times at tech stop, etc. To arrive at a reasonable answer you will need to do calculations on speed, distance, time and fuel burn. You will need to take ALL the given constraints into consideration, and come up with a conclusion. Pencils and paper will be provided on top of the actual materials required, and you will not be allowed to use a calculator - though it won't matter, the calculations are simple enough to be done in your head and on paper if necessary. You might need to convert units at times (I don't really remember) but if that is the case, the conversion factors should be provided in the materials.

During the exercise you are expected to work together with your team mates. Think of yourselves as airline crew; you might do your calculations independently but when you present your answers you do so as a team. Just keep a cool head, stay focused, and make sure of your answers before presenting them. Good luck! :ok:

Thankyou very much for that insightful post holdmetight, it's certainly helped to ease some of the concerns I had!

Can anyone confirm if I am correct as to what is involved with Stage 2/3? From anyone who has done this stage fairly recently? As I don't think they do the Wombat test anymore do they as far as I was aware this is what it involves :

Stage 2.

Interview
Maths Test
Flight planning ex (Pairs)
Group Ex
Some kind of personality test with like a what excites you more type of questions? Such as a well made vase or a gun or something

And Stage 3 :

Medical
Management interview
English test

Am I missing anything?

Hi all,
Can anyone confirm what the answer to the following question is:

If you were flying at 480kts, how long does it take to travel 18miles?

I'm getting 0.038hours as my answer which equates to 2.28mins, but i'm thinking this seems wrong for some reason :/

Is there a quick way to work this out without using a calculator or pen and paper?

DDobinpilot

What does your Stage 2 invitation e-mail say? I don't think they have stopped using the Wombat test, though apart from that your projected Stage 2 itinerary is pretty accurate. Stage 3 also includes uniform measurement and a briefing, though these are not assessments.

ap_797

480kts = 480nm in 60 minutes = 8nm per minute

Therefore it takes approximately 2.25 minutes to fly 18 miles if your GS is 480kts. As always, use an estimate to make life easier for yourself, so you could probably use 2 to 2.5 minutes as your answer.

Thx for the flight planning info holdmetight. I'm doing stage II and III next week - 10 and 11 Nov. - and I wasn't sure what to expect from the FP exercises.

Somebody doing stage II and III the 10th and the 11th?

Blue skies,

NFAM

Holdmetight, so far I have just got the automated email saying that I have been shortlisted for stage 2 so hopefully will get the invite soon. Also nightflights does it say in your email that there will be a wombat test?

Cheers Holdmetight!

DDobinpilot isn't there also the hand eye aptitude tests to include to that list? (unless you already did this at stage 1?)

NightFlightsAreMagic good luck with stage 2! It'd be great if you were able to confirm the list DDobinpilot posted.

This is what I got:
- Personality Test (Computer-based/Time allowed: 45mins)
- Numeracy Test (Computer-based/Time allowed: 30mins)
- Aptitude test (Computer bases/ Time allowed: 75mins)
- Group Exercise (60mins)
- Flight Planning Exercise (90mins)
- Panel Interview (General and Technical/ 60mins)
- Medical
The mail only mentions one aptitude test and one interview, but I don't know if I will get two aptitudes test -the normal one + the wombat test- and two interviews.

It doesn't say anything about an English test either...Do you guys think I will not get the English test bc they do not mention it, or will I get it even if it's not on the list...It don't really matters actually, I'm not scared for the English test.

Holdmetight, what did your mail said when you got the invitation for stage II? Was it the same? Or did they mention the wombat, the second and third interview and the English test?
Tailwinds,
NFAM

ap_797

I’m not sure if it was a typo by you but 18 miles = 15.6415 nautical miles. At 480 kts it would take 2 minutes to travel that distance.

NightFlightsAreMagic
 

You wil get one "aptitude" test - either the Wombat Test or the traditional Cathay aptitude test. It depends on which of these you did in Stage 1; if you did the Wombat in Stage 1 you will get the traditional test, and vice versa. There is only one panel interview, it will last around an hour in which general and technical questions will be asked.

The English Test will come in Stage 3, which should be held on the day following Stage 2. You are invited to Stage 3 only if you pass Stage 2.

My Stage 2 invitation e-mail was a little different from yours. It specifically said I would do the Wombat in Stage 2, and did not include the medical. The e-mail mentioned nothing about the Stage 3 schedule, so naturally it said nothing about the ICAO English test or Management interview either. You should only get a tentative Stage 3 schedule on the day before you do Stage 2.

Aah, oki, I thought the medical was also for stage III. Thanks for clearing that up holdmetight.

I didn't do any aptitude test in stage I. Not the traditional one, and not the wombat test. I'll just see what they'll give me.

Anyway, it seems, I'll have a very very busy day, especially if they squeeze the medical in stage II.

Thumbs up,

NFAM

Reading these posts I think the Pilot Aptitude Test (75mins) is different to the Wombat test as the Wombat test is usually allocated as 90mins and they usually say on the brief they email you before hand that you will be doing the Wombat Pilot Aptitude Test (90mins) Anyone know the differences at all??

Also has anyone posted up a good link for a place to practice for the numeracy tests, obviously for Stage 1 people reccommended the John Ravens booklets for the Shape matrices, it is just difficult to know what to expect, also you don't know how much weight is put on each particular test! I passed Stage 1 but am yet to receive any information on when my Stage 2 will be.

You will struggle to find them anywhere in my experience.

nmcpilot
 

The PAT and the Wombat Test are totally seperate things and are not similar. The PAT focuses on the physical side of things, such as hand-eye coordination and reaction time etc. The Wombat Test has an element of hand-eye coordination as well, but its main focus is on multi-tasking ability.