The ideal CPP applicant
 

Hi there HK wannabes,

I am interested in finding out what exactly Cathay are looking for in CPP applicants.

Obviously the pre-requisites must be met but how about previous flying experience, licenses (any ICAO state), MEIR, ATPLs, degrees, diplomas, age, nationality, previously lived in HK etc

If you have been invited for an interview, please let me know what you think is required in the initial screening.

Systems

not necessarly university degree holder! friend of mine has been called for an interview and he hasn't been to the university.

delete post plz

great post nkand
 

nothing to add to what you just said!

Yeah also I wouldnt let age discourage any one, there seem to be a few 18 y with interviews and i'm 21 so it doesnt seem like there is a clear cut image of what they do want. As for the degree a few of the applicants seem to have started degrees in aviation and have not finished them and are still applying. I have a degree in aviation but i dont think it is a deal sealer at all its just something a bit extra and doesnt offer any real advantage. hope this helps

and what'bout the personality aspect? coz' i met couple of flight graders and they have kinda "similar" personality. and I am quite sure "personality counts.

Thanks for your thoughts folks.

Mixed comments so I guess the only real answer would come from CX management. It would be interesting to get an idea of which way they are going if any..

Younger (up to say 23), passionate, non-flyers with good school marks?
Older (24+), CPL/MEIR pilots with degrees and ATPLs?

Obviously a good command of english and being a quick learner is what is really needed.

How many cadets do they need?

To give you an idea I was rung today for the second stage in HK.

I'm 20;
Got C's for Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Japanese and an A for web design at school in 2006 (completed Yr12);
Worked for 5 years so far;
Only 5 hours dual flight experience for a rec licence;
Have my SPL and ASIC;
Doing an aviation degree at uni currently, only half a year through so far;
And am not 'fit' as such but not terribly overweight either.

Hope that gives you some direction.

congrats darkrampage..you must be really excited about getting through the next stage. i say, if you don't go any further from this point, at least you won a free trip to Hong Kong eh.

Is Cathay now restricting it's applicants from HK only? From the website, the CPP requirements are now

• 5 passes in Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination / GCSE (O Level) including Physics and Mathematics, together with 2 passes in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination / GCE A Level, Science subjects preferred.
• Passes in Physics and Mathematics to year 10 and completed high school with the required university entrance qualifications, Science subjects preferred.
• Hold a degree or diploma in any discipline.

It no longer says 'or equivalent as obtained overseas'. :ugh:

I really hope I get in.

21 years old
255 Total Hours, Instrument + Commercial single, working on multi instrument now.
2 year degree in Liberal Arts. B+ average.
1 year away from my 4 Aviation year. A- average.
Lived in EU / US so maybe that might be an advantage.

Good luck to all.

Good spanner to throw in the works Darkrampage! Thanks for your input and all the best for stage two :ok:

How about those unsuccessful applicants? Do they get notified or is it the case of 'no news is bad news'?

Some info for you.

I'm 18, average marks throughout school 4 As in my GCSE 3 Bs in French, Science, and Maths.
Originally from New York, moved to Hong Kong for my dads job, speak perfect English.
I have been very passionate about flying since I was very little.

I got called in for initial testing and then got called back again for my interview.

I just got my rejection email from cathay about an hour ago that I didn't make it through the interview.

Hopefully this helps any prospective cadets.

I don't want to sound cliche but I really do believe that there is no "perfect mould" that CX has in mind. I believe they evaluate candidates on a case-by-case basis and on individual merit (experiences, achievements, goals, interests...etc).

I say this because I know cadets who were selected when >30, but I also know people who went through the process successfully when they were 18. What's more, some of the cadets that I know have aviation degrees, whilst others have degrees in engineering, law, science and medicine....on top of that, some of the cadets have no flying experience at all, whilst others used to be flying instructors...

Therefore, I think that as selective as CX is, there is no such thing as an ideal candidate. I think as long as you meet their requirements, though there are many things they look for (attitude, personality, experience...etc), they will evaluate you on an individual basis.

Flapsupdown, I think you are on to something there. It would seem that there is more to hiring a cadet than we can think of here. Personality is the big one i'm guessing.

Systems

Are they really looking for candidates with cpl and beyond or are they more focused on training ppl from scratch under there system. Hows the the cadet program work if you already have a CPL? Do you just do the type training then get a SO position.

Someone to share a shoebox size apartment with 6 other cadets on the outskirts of HK, eat rice and rice only, and spend your remaining salary on 1 beer per month.

I hope you have done your research people......

what about age? really wish to know about the aspect.....

Blogsey,

I have a relative who is flying with Cathay Pacific as a JFO and told me that is is well worth applying. It's a life time chance to fly with a well known company and starting position SO on 747 - 340 - 330. Now as far as the salary during the training from what i heard, it's nothing special, somewhere around 100 dollars or so. Let's not expect everything. Bottom point is they are training the cadets and offering them a job as a SO on heavy jets and the only thing the cadets need to pay is their living expenses. Let's not be gready and be thankfull for such an opportunity. I think you need to do your research again and stop putting people off, the training is done in Australia and not in HK and if a beer in HK is worth $100 i would expect to drink beer with gold leaves in it.

wheelercm
 

:ok::ok::ok::ok:

Well Said!!