We've heard it guys. It won't be easy !

Now, on the positive side, tell us about the good stuff ! :)

Foxtrot_Lima_Mike

We were asked by Standard Toaster to help him with his tax and expenditure figures. That is all we have done.
If you don’t like what we have to say, too bad. You can stick your head in the sand but the first time someone like you says how tough they have it will get a very short and sharp response from me. Enough of us who work here have spent the time to warn you about the cost of living in Hong Kong as an expat on local terms. If you choose to ignore those warning, that is your problem.

A potential solution which will never happen I guess would be to open outport bases to cadet pilots...

As the others have said - Very difficult without housing plus family. For a single person you can get by.

Some of the costs do vary but believe me, your first year or two here on the basic salary is going to be hard.

Use Cathay to get some Jet time and a rating then leave. Even if it's a P2X rating, you can upgrade it back home in a sim. I think you would only need to do a P1 endorsement.

Do the math boys and girl's - Do the Math!!!!

Will the cadets be allowed staff travel? if so why arent they able to live at home for their 20 days off and jsut fly to HK for the 10days work? dont shoot me, im just making a suggestion (probably way off)

Don't exaggerate the cost of living
 

Guys... please don't exaggerate too much. I am a canadian living in hong kong over 5 years.

Expenditure/month

Rent: $8000 or less (renovated 2 bedrooms 440sq.ft high rise in center of mong kok, can be cheaper depends on the location)
Home Phone: $0 not necessary if have mobile
Mobile: $300
Internet+NOW TV: $300
Electricity: $1000 per 2 months(500 per month)
Gas: $300
Water: $100
Public Transport: $1000
Food + Miscellaneous: $3500
Medical Insurance: $1500
Total: $15500

This is what I am actually spending each month! ..

spacedemon

It’s funny how you’re a first time poster. It’s probably because you’re a management stooge talking BS out of your rear end. Anyone with some time in HK knows for that sought of money you would get a dog box with bars on the windows and doors in Mongkok.

If you want to talk numbers sunshine, you’re punching way above your league.

FFS
 

spacecadet...440sft?!?:rolleyes: In Mong Kok!?!?:ok: Are you for real? Nice try, but I think our intrepid cadets need better info than that. I notice you haven't included tax either, so add another $6-7000 per month. I doubt you work for CX or you'd know that $300/month for a mobile when you spend 10 days per month on roaming isnt even close. Just got my last bill, $1300 and I was on leave for a portion of that:ouch:

Speedi, yes, you get staff travel to your home port for the first 6 months, then system wide after that. You could try living at home, but where will you stay when you are in HK? The Headland? And good luck getting on with your seniority, we are pretty full to almost all destinations. I guess it could work, but staff travel isn't exactly cheap either.

FLM....you ass:yuk: Yes Yes, nevermind poverty and financial hardship for 4+ years, you get to sit up front of a shiny jet and stare out the window at the darkness during the back of the clock wireless work you'll be doing....:ugh: Other positives are you do get lots of time off to travel....hang on though, you won't be able to afford to get around and see anything, you'll be broke:{....oh well, maybe on overnights with the crew you can....hang on, you'll be holed up in your hotel room watching local language tv as you can't afford to go out:{.....Of course, on the positive side, you get a crap uniform to impress the ladies and your Mum with....:E

Ispahan, bases are in seniority order, why give them to the most junior crew? Because they aren't clever enough to see what a raw deal they are getting?:= TFB.

You have been warned.:rolleyes:

Speedi.......
You'll maybe get 15 days off a month.......3 or 4 days off between trips. 2 of those days would be spent getting offloaded from Standby travel. You won't have much chance to be going home.

??
 

If the work conditions are so bad, then why are you all still working for Cathay??? :ugh:

Daftpunk2008

You are obviously an illiterate idiot if you haven’t figured out we are talking about the new conditions of service being offered to the international cadets, not our own conditions of service. I suggest you go back to 1st grade and learn how to read and comprehend.:ugh:

Reading Comprehension for a 1st Grader

404 Titan
 

I understand what you are saying and thank you for your advice.

We know very well that the new working conditions for international cadets are tough and do not include housing allowance. But stop discourage future potential cadets.

There are also plenty of positive things that you do not mention! In every job there are advantages and benefits, and we must cope with!

Best regards from an idiot!

:mad:

Daftpunk2008

I'll repost a post I wrote in reply to Foxtrot_Lima_Mike as it also applies to you.

You don't need us to tell you the good things about working here. You can figure those out for yourself.:ugh:

Its worse than I thought....
 

Daft....at least we have no need to worry about you being one of our new cadets, your simply too "daft".....:ugh::hmm::rolleyes:

Good lord I wonder just how bad is SJS these days?:confused:

You have been warned...again:ugh::rolleyes:

You can't really blame some of these wannabe's trying for the international cadet program. It seems some of them come from a social environment where career and earning expectations are low. As such the CX cadet program, even at reduced conditions, would be still a better career path than anything else available to them. Maybe coming to Hong Kong with no housing benefits doesn't even lower their standard of living depending on social environment and country they are coming from.
Pretty hard for them to understand what you guys are talking about, even though you are stating the facts.

That's all correct. Even for Bangladeshis, CX CEP is a dream.. for now..

Flight Planning Exercise
 

Guys, let's get back to the technical discussion.

For the "Flight Planning" exercise in Stage 2 interview, will we be given the aeronautical chart to plan the flight? In the other words, do we need to know how to read the aeronautical chart in order to do well in this exercise? Will that be a VFR planning or IFR planning ?

Also, if I am correct, I know we will need to do some simple math for the flight planning, such as wind component, fuel burn rate, endurance, etc. Can we use calculator during this exercise?

Thanks for the information.

No matter what pay any airline offers there will always be someone willing to do the job! Especially if the airline is paying for the training. Yes especially if they are coming from Bangladesh or poorer countries, or Hong Kong that doesn't have pilot training.

Pilots with experience, or from more wealthy nations or backgrounds will know that these conditions are substandard for an experienced pilot. These are cadetships. Exactly that. Designed for a unlicenced applicant with little to no experience, Cathay train you up, then they pay you around half for the rest of your career.

The problem arises in that experienced pilots are used to thinking that Cathay are a good airline and provide good conditions. They used to, to an extent they stopped that about 13 years ago. But right now those days are sadly over my friends! But...hopefully temporarily!!

The only way that Cathay will change the "No Direct Entry Pilots" status is if applicants with experience go elsewhere and are honest with recruitment about the poor offer. Including telling them you will wait for a direct entry position.

Listen carefully here... If you join under a Cadetship you will always be a Cadet entry pilot and will always be paid less than the other pilots. If you have experience, go to another airline or wait for the direct entry positions to be offered again. This is black and white! Easy stuff!

Also, any experienced pilot joining on this Cadet package will make it harder for DESO recruitment to start again.

On the other hand if you have no experience and can't afford to pay for your own training then go for it! This is perfect for you!

If anybody is interested in wanting Cathay to resume Direct Entry (experienced/licenced) Second Officer recruitment with housing and full benefits please write to Cathay recruitment stating exactly that.

Also it could be helpful to scan and email a copy of the recruitment offer or contract to the HKAOA (CX pilots union): [email protected] and see if they will follow it up from that angle. The union has not been consulted about this new Cadet short course for experienced pilots and certainly hasn't ratified its (miss)-use.

So for experienced guys sorry about the wait! To the inexperienced unlicenced Cadet applicants, I wish you the best of luck!

Eleong
 

You are already thinking too hard! The flight planning exercise is quite simple and does not require any experience on flight planning at all. If you think too complicated, it will ruin you! You basically have to find a route to fly for 2 cities in Asia, considering where to stopover for fuel. You have to find the ETA, ETD, T/O weight, runway length, fuel needed at each stop + contingency fuel, etc and see if the stopover point you choose is feasible with the considerations of fuel cost.

All the figures given to you are rounded off, so calculations are simple and you should be able to do all of them in your head.

The hard part is being able to work under the stress, you will calculate all the figures for your options and have to work your way through to see which route is will work out, make sure you don't panic and you will do fine.

For new interviewees/studiers, a quick reiview of great stuff in this forum!
Thanks to some great PPruNe'rs...
Page 51 - Fleet Numbers and specs
Page 52, 53, 59 - Inter view questions from previous applicants
Page 54 - Round 2 sim review

Cheers :ok: