Cathay Looking For Canadians

[andy.air]

Just got the invite for a second officer interview in Hong Kong. Currently am at Jazz looking at an upgrade by years end. Should I go for it or stick with Jazz/AC? I would be bringing my wife and baby along if I got the job and was wondering if the salary would be enough to rent a decent sized space (1000 square feet or so) and live comfortably in a good area of Hong Kong... From most of the stuff I read on Pprune the second officer job doesn't seem worth it and direct entry FO jobs at Cathay require substantial jet time which I don't have.

You will make more money as a first year SO than at Air Canada. But there is a huge caveat. This chunk of money is offset by high living expenses in Hong Kong, you will not get a pension, and you would also be joining on the new COS18 contract post December 2018. What this means is that your salary has more to do with how many hours you work, and chances are, you will be making a percentage less than SOs who joined before December 2018. A 1000 sq'ft apartment in Hong Kong may be out of your reach unless your wife finds a job, as rent for such a size is $4500-5000 CAD/month and upwards. A 500-700 sq'ft size is more in your reach.

Things are not as bad as the stuff you read on Pprune (conspiracy theories and all), but they are far from rosy. Upgrades at present are 5 years (and as explained earlier this thread, there is a threat that this figure may increase). Management at CX is pretty weak, and they will not hesitate to throw lies at you. Hong Kong is also becoming increasingly less livable and politically unstable since 20 years ago, which I suspect is part of the reason why expats are going home. In short, there is a high chance that even if you do come out here, you will probably come home at some point anyways--which means it makes more sense to stay at home given that the airline profession is so seniority based.

There are direct entry FO opportunities, but CX don't hire that many of them. You not only need jet time, but you also need time on a jet that meets a minimum tonnage. Even if you do get in this route, you will more likely than not end up on the freighter, which everyone on it is trying to get out of.

Just my 2 cents.

[bearitus]

Just got the invite for a second officer interview in Hong Kong. Currently am at Jazz looking at an upgrade by years end. Should I go for it or stick with Jazz/AC? I would be bringing my wife and baby along if I got the job and was wondering if the salary would be enough to rent a decent sized space (1000 square feet or so) and live comfortably in a good area of Hong Kong... From most of the stuff I read on Pprune the second officer job doesn't seem worth it and direct entry FO jobs at Cathay require substantial jet time which I don't have.

You will make more money as a first year SO than at Air Canada. But there is a huge caveat. This chunk of money is offset by high living expenses in Hong Kong, you will not get a pension, and you would also be joining on the new COS18 contract post December 2018. What this means is that your salary has more to do with how many hours you work, and chances are, you will be making a percentage less than SOs who joined before December 2018. A 1000 sq'ft apartment in Hong Kong may be out of your reach unless your wife finds a job, as rent for such a size is $4500-5000 CAD/month and upwards. A 500-700 sq'ft size is more in your reach.

Things are not as bad as the stuff you read on Pprune (conspiracy theories and all), but they are far from rosy. Upgrades at present are 5 years (and as explained earlier this thread, there is a threat that this figure may increase). Management at CX is pretty weak, and they will not hesitate to throw lies at you. Hong Kong is also becoming increasingly less livable and politically unstable since 20 years ago, which I suspect is part of the reason why expats are going home. In short, there is a high chance that even if you do come out here, you will probably come home at some point anyways--which means it makes more sense to stay at home given that the airline profession is so seniority based.

There are direct entry FO opportunities, but CX don't hire that many of them. You not only need jet time, but you also need time on a jet that meets a minimum tonnage. Even if you do get in this route, you will more likely than not end up on the freighter, which everyone on it is trying to get out of.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the reply. By the sounds of things it seems like the best spot to stay is in Canada and work up the seniority lists here.