Hi Everybody,

The Cathay Pacific Airways Second Officer Cadet Pilot Programme has been expanded to consist of the following three streams:

1. A 61 week Ab-initio programme for applicants with little or no aviation experience;
2. A 30 week Advanced Entry programme for applicants who possess an ICAO CPL and in excess of 250 hours flight time in certain categories; and
3. A 12 week Cadet Transition Training programme for applicants with an ICAO CPL, passes in all ATPL subjects and in excess of 1500 hours total flight time

............................................................ ............................................................ ........

I have a JAA license. Can I still apply?

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Regards.

Costas,

Yes you can still apply with a JAA licence. Plenty of folks there with JAA licences on the cadet scheme.

Thanks SW1.

Also if you have a lapsed ME is it still possible to apply?

I went to my interview and subesequent flight grading with nothing valid, including my medical. You will have a medical at Stage 3 in HK.

Remember some guys have no licences or flying experience at all and get through. Just make sure you know your stuff for the interviews. I was not asked why i hadnt renewed many of my ratings.

I dont even remember there being a section to put in dates of expiry of licences and ratings, just apply:ok:

A JAA license is an ICAO license

DESO or cadet pilot?
 

Hi guys,

Are there any special perks that direct entry SOs have over cadet pilots? I've applied to CX in the past on their cadet programme and made it as far as stage 2 in HK, however didn't progress past that.

In a few months time I expect to exceed the requirements for SO and should also have some single engine turbine time. Is it worth while me applying for DESO rather than cadet pilot this time round? Would that be considered a little cocky if I didn't pass the cadet assessment first time round?

Thx!

@halifax,

mine is on 22 March in Singapore though. Now we've got 22-24!

Application Number
 

Hi guys,

Does anybody know where to find the application number?

I have looked through all the things Cathay have sent me but I cant find anything!

I need it for my interview which is soon. Any help would be appreciated!

Hi all

Was just reading the forum, and was wondering from people that have gone through stages 1 and 2 lately if they had to do the wombat testing? also is the aptitude testing with the joystick still happening also?

Also from what I know stage 1 interviews happening in april in auckland...... and new course starting in May in Adelaide for the 30 week course.

Any info about stage 1 that is different would be great.

Cheers :ok:

U don't want to come here!!!!

It's getting worse everyday. :hmm::ugh:

hi guys. would like to ask the foreign applicants who have attended stage 2/3 b4.. hw many people do u actually see at these stages?
jus wondering how high is the elimination % at stage 1 or hw many ppl does CX actually import to HKG for further stages..
thanks!

no quota

if you're good enough during your interview at Singapore, you're through

finished cx cpp stage 1 and waiting reply
 

finished cx cpp stage 1 interview on 14th this month and now waiting for reply. any other attended the stage 1 interview as i do?? anyone received any reply?

many questions from both the HR and pilot i cannot answer...:sad: is that mean i will be out? how long i am expected to wait? anyone willing to share their experience?;)

Instead of getting extremely excited to jump into a sinking ship, perhaps some of you should ask tough questions in the interview about your future at CX if you get the job. The first one will be how long it will take you to upgrade to First Officer, and the second - how long will it take to upgrade to Captain. Realize, that most of what you are told will not be the truth as CX is just trying to put warm bodies in seats at the lowest total cost.

You will be banging your head against the wall for a very long time as an SO if you are not careful. Good Luck.... Trust but verify (make sure the contract you sign protects you - it Doesn't!)!

Oh but if I dare ask a tough question at the interview, then I'll be scared I won't get accepted.

I asked the question and was informed "variable - about 4 years".

In turn, I was asked 'what's stopping you from leaving CX once you're FO and going back home'. :}

Ummmm....... "Nothing.... you made sure of that when you decided not to give me any housing allowance":ok:

Stage 1 interview
 

Hello guys, I am invited to attend the stage 1 interview in HK on March 8th. Anybody here get the same day? For those of you who recently attend the stage 1, any updated news that I should know before I go? Your insight will be helpful.

Also, I am planing to book a hotel on the 7th near HKG. If you don't mind sharing the room, you can PM me and let's arrange.

Thanks guys! :ok:

Hi I applied in March 2010 and just recieved an invite to Auckland on the 7th April - the invite said that there will be 4 areas they are looking at - >Interview with both Personal and Technical Questions (45mins)
Technical multiple-choice Questionnaire (45mins)
Reasoning Test (45mins)
A Personality Assessment (30mins)

I will read through the 100 or so pages but any info will be much appreciated - I have 450hrs tt, all ATPLs and current MEIR...fingers (and toes) crossed :)

man, it seems like overseas interview doesn't have the Wombat-CS Test part. :mad:You guys are lucky!

Grow a pair....c'mon they need to have there head examined....:yuk:

Hey Guys Im from Toronto Canada and ive just applied, I have a CPL/MULTI-IFR/Instructor Rating already and 900 TT with commercial experience on a navajo. I wouldn't mind starting over again to learn the 'cathay' way with their SOPs.

Good luck to everyone here! Any idea how many candidates they take per batch and when the interview cycles run? Ive put HongKong as my first choice for interview preference location.

Hi guys

Just after some infomation on the reasoning test. Is it based on maths questions or more verbal and abstract.

Any help would be appreciated on what to expect.

Thanks

1. Same
2. No housing, other benefits the same
3. Cadet = no housing
4. Public forum, not the place to tell
5. No. seniority is determined by date of hire.
6. Seniority determines time to upgrade to JFO, not performance. Presently around 4 years after finishing cadet course and starting SO training.
7. P2 time can be logged only for time in the right seat. Captains can log the entire time of flight.
8. Sim module every 2 months.
9. Not true.
10. In accepting a contract on lower terms, you are setting the stage for lowering the conditions of all CX pilots in the future, making your contract the standard for all new hires and making it very hard for the present CX pilots to improve conditions. Most try to rationalize that even though they start employment with CX on lower conditions, they eventually will get the same benefits and contract conditions then the present CX pilots which is not the case. It's the simple supply and demand game. As long as CX can lower conditions and find enough pilots/cadets to fill these positions the trend to lower contract conditions continues until the situation reverses, meaning CX has to raise contract conditions again to find enough qualified people to supply hiring demand.
In my opinion you can make CX only a viable career if you can hold a US base (guessing you are American) after JFO assessment, which there are none available at the present time.
If you consider living in Hong Kong with wife and without housing benefits most of your income will be used up, making it very hard to save money for retirement or create home owner equity. When you are promoted to Captain in 15 - 18 years you will get a special management allowance which is presently about 1/3 of the housing allowance.
You truly love flying? Pilots don't fly at CX or any other particular long-haul widebody airline, pilots operate and manage automation.

Benefits
 

The HR lady told me that was NO education allowances either, as the public Hong Kong schools were available to locals.

I was in the 2008 DESO pool, said No to the cadet scheme.

I have over 4500 hrs and the lifestyle is what I'm looking for, the cockpit is the same on a Dash8 as it is on the 747, just a little higher and faster.

Times are turing for the better, just wait.

1-3. Absolutely no housing for cadet at the moment. Special management allowance when promoted to captain which is around 1/3 of the housing allowance and 1/5 of the present rental allowance for captain. Local employed pilots are getting now an education allowance as far as I know, so cadets will get it too.
7. SO do not take-off or land the aircraft. SO operate the radio and maintain fuel log in cruise. When flying with Captain SO sits in right seat when flying with Relief Qualified FO, SO sits in left seat. SO time can not be logged, as you will have a P2X rating.

There has been talk of a possible housing allowance for cadets. Has there been any progress on this?

A SO cadet upgrading to JFO has no more T/O and Ldg experience than 4 years previously when they flew in Adelaide. Not sure what this T/O, Ldg experience is that you are asking about, if you can pass the upgrade you will be a JFO if you can't you won't be and will be fired.

There will be no progress on housing until the first international cadets have enough time as a JFO and all start leaving for other jobs, CX will then provide just enough to make it worthwhile staying.

Does anyone know if English Listening & Grammar test is still on Stage 1?
It looks like some folks didn't have it on stage 1

no its not on! whats on is:

- reasoning test
- JKI test
- wombat-cs test
- personality test
- interview (personal + technical)

anyone else got a march 30th interview in HK?

Thanks a lot for the info

sloppyjoe, what a/c do you fly now? did you have a fleet choice at that time?

I had my Stage 1 interview in Hong Kong on Feb 14th and there were THREE of us!

go to pilotenboard.de, then to Air Berlin und weitere Airlines, and select my message 'Cathay Stage 1'.

hey Zoe,

check ur email :)

It doesnt mean that you're out ;) I think I did well, but I can't say if I made it or not. Its a pain and a matter of waiting. 2-3 weeks. so we get to know sometime between Feb 28th and March 5th

Tim

Cathay Stage 1
 

hi everyone,

I've been reading numerous posts about information regarding Cathay Stage 1. Here's my report!

I had my Stage 1 one Feb 14th! It contained of the following things:
- Job Knowledge Test
- Reasoning Test
- Wombat-Cs Test
- Personality Test
- Interview (technical + personal)

Job Knowledge Test
Upon your invitation to Stage 1 you receive a JKI Booklet detailing information you NEED TO KNOW for the Job Knowledge Test. It is a multi-choice test, 50 questions, 40 minutes. I can just urge you guys: learn it IN AND OUT. You will also need this knowledge for the technical part of the interview (the guy picks certain questoins off the booklet and specifically asks you. E.g I was asked to explain how VSI works)

Reasoning Test
Not Maths related! Just comparing and analsying graphics and pictures. Easy, but it gets more challenging as you progress. You have 5 Minuts for 8 (i think) questions and 30 minuts for 30 (i think) questions

Wombat-Cs Test
Google wombat-cs test and study the manual. It tests your situational awarness and your multi-tasking skills. It lasts 60 minutes.

Personality Test
BE HONEST! It contains three exercises. In the first exercise you need to rank 8 sentences according to your description of your personlity. In the second exercise you need to do the EXACT same thing and this is where Cathay is testing you on your honesty! It is pretty hard to memorise 8x7=56 sentence orders, so my advise is to be honest. The last exercise is about answering questions and selecting yes, no or maybe (cant remeber the exact structure)

Interview
30 minutes personal, and 30 minutes technical! in the personal part be friendly, show interest, sell yourself well and persuade them to take you. In the technical part don't be put down by questions you cant answer ( I couldnt answer 4 questions). Be honest and say that you cant answer the questions. If you studied the JKI well, you'll be fine

Overall
I think I did a good job, but even then I can't tell if I got through or not. You need to wait 2-3 weeks and during this time you just need to 'survive' it! Its pretty hard and I'm anxious and cant wait for the feedback, but you've got to wait.

Hope I could help.

Tim

...I have to disagree on the reasoning test being easy.

http://www.iqtest.dk/main.swf - perfect example of the Raven's progressive matrices which you are tested on in the reasoning test. Not as easy as it might seem, if you get 90%+ on that test consider yourself extremely clever.

Studying for the interview goes far beyond knowing the JKI booklet inside and out. Supplemental knowledge is vital for this, especially information on Hong Kong, CX, and AFT. They will ask you technical questions to the limits of your knowledge, and then a little bit further. They look to see that you have the knowledge that you ought to possess considering your aviation experience, and that you have done even more research (if you were really interested in flying you wouldn't just learn the bare minimum but you would read up on more advanced material). Furthermore you will be asked questions that you do not know the answer to, how you respond to such questions is vital, can you work out the answer by piecing together what you do know?

Exude confidence in your interview, if you have prepared yourself sufficiently this will come naturally, walking in to the interview you should feel ready to answer anything they throw at you.

After you get an interview, what should i expect? Will they send me information in the mail? So far all the information I received was that I was given an interview.

Thanks

Africa
 

Has anyone received a call or email to go for a CX interview from the Africa region?