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Cathay Interview

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CheyDogFlies

CheyDogFlies

Kickin' it "C"old School
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Posts
35
Applied online to Cathay in Sep/Oct. Went to the AIR Inc conference in Nov and saw the Cathay rep, who all but laughed in my face because I did not meet their minimum hours. I have not updated my resume since, because I didn't want to be humiliated again.

Out of the blue, they just called me for a FO freighter interview in NYC, which I accepted. Thoughts? This seems rather unusual to me--still don't meet their "minimums"...
 
CheyDogFlies said:
Applied online to Cathay in Sep/Oct. Went to the AIR Inc conference in Nov and saw the Cathay rep, who all but laughed in my face because I did not meet their minimum hours. I have not updated my resume since, because I didn't want to be humiliated again.

Out of the blue, they just called me for a FO freighter interview in NYC, which I accepted. Thoughts? This seems rather unusual to me--still don't meet their "minimums"...
Click to expand...

word on the street is they are hard up for pilots, thus dropping the mins. if you still want to work there give it your best shot.
 
I had applied back in '99. Did not update when they converted their pilot app system in 2001.

Last month I received a package requesting I update my CV. :) Go figure.
 
No, from what I understand it is rather difficult (and not legal if you live in HK).
I also cancelled my interview with Cathay on Friday for a job elsewhere.
 
cathay

They may be losing pilots on the property; I know ups has hired more than a handful of cathay pilots in the recent past.

Aviator7576
 
Don't they have some type of training contract?
 
Hey guys,

No training contract and you get full pay from day one, plus per-diem while in Hong Kong.

I get more then enough days off that I can still do reserves out of Kingsville, TX. Cathay has no problem with reserves as long as you don't drop trips for it. Legally if you are based out of the US they HAVE to let you do reserves and give you days off for it, but i'm not going to be the first one to press their buttons:bomb: . I go over 20 years in 9 days anyway so if it gets too painfull i'll retire from the mil.

Sounds like Cheydog is off to somewhere wlse anyway.

Cathay is getting desperate and the pay and conditions are likely to get much better soon. In negotiations(sp?) as we speak.


Hope this helps.
 
I would be put on leave without pay, just like any company in the states. CP told me that directly.
 
I've seen threads that have not been so kind to the atmosphere at Cathay. What's the deal with how things work at Cathay? I remember the Cathay website having more information about what to expect than what I was able to find. I guess 2yrs in HK and then possibly getting a base in North America? Any place to find some more info?
 
What are the real mins? I'm a res mil guy on the west coast looking for the cargo gig and can't find anything....Any ideas on how to get an in?
 
Tommy, the atmosphere is getting better all the time.

A. They are truly desperate for pilots and with a record # of guys leaving for higher paying jobs like UPS or getting recalled to their previous carriers they are being sqeezed and are changing they way they do checking, training, and the overall way they treat us. Watch this space for a pay raise.
If they don't keep guys from leaving airplanes will be parked soon.

The atmospere overall is very good, just a few bad apples like anywhere. The biggest complaints are money and scheduling, again, like anywhere.

B. After a few have been fired unjustly and are now sueing and winning the company is taking notice.

No need to be based in Hong Kong if hired as an FO. As an SO you have to give a little time in Hong Kong, but some guys are getting picked up for freighter FO slots early and getting out of HKG in less then 1 year. Don't know of any guys getting a US base after doing that.

KCPilot, I don't think anyone knows what the real mins are, but you definatly neet them hours wise. I had 2800 fast jet time, about 1800 TPIC time and got on as a DEFO.
 
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Bjammin said:
Tommy, the atmosphere is getting better all the time.

A. They are truly desperate for pilots and with a record # of guys leaving for higher paying jobs like UPS or getting recalled to their previous carriers they are being sqeezed and are changing they way they do checking, training, and the overall way they treat us. Watch this space for a pay raise.
If they don't keep guys from leaving airplanes will be parked soon.

The atmospere overall is very good, just a few bad apples like anywhere. The biggest complaints are money and scheduling, again, like anywhere.

B. After a few have been fired unjustly and are now sueing and winning the company is taking notice.

No need to be based in Hong Kong if hired as an FO. As an SO you have to give a little time in Hong Kong, but some guys are getting picked up for freighter FO slots early and getting out of HKG in less then 1 year. Don't know of any guys getting a US base after doing that.

KCPilot, I don't think anyone knows what the real mins are, but you definatly neet them hours wise. I had 2800 fast jet time, about 1800 TPIC time and got on as a DEFO.
Click to expand...


Can anyone give examples of "typicall" 747-400 cargo routes flown by the US crews? Are they most often LA or NY to ANC and then on to HKG and maybe one other Asian destination or do you also get some Europe, ME, Africa, etc.? Do you get much route variety on the cargo side or even some adhoc trips? Listing typical destinations would be appreciated.
 
Very typical sked:

LAX-ANC, night, ANC-HKG, 1.5 days off, HKG-ANC, night, ANC-LAX, finished.

5 days to do, 2 trips a month.

Every once in a while you have to do a "W" pattern from ANC, that's a nine day trip.

I have one 5 day and one 9 day in July.

Sometimes you do a ANC-DAL-ATL, or something similar, on the way back or a local flight while in HKG.

Never have done a Europe or Middle-East.
 
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Bjammin,
How hard is it to get LAX right from the start. Can you transfer to the pax side in LAX or do you have to go to H.K. first. Also am I getting this straight. You normally only do 2 of those 5 day trips a month? If so can what can you expect on first year pay? Thanks.
 
You can get LAX out of the starting gates. All bases are open right now. When you transfer to the PAX fleet you can stay on your base if it's open, again all are open right now and the fleet is expanding.

Yes, two 5 day trips a month is about it. I cleared about 6300 a month first year with retirement and per-diem included.
 
Bjammin said:
You can get LAX out of the starting gates. All bases are open right now. When you transfer to the PAX fleet you can stay on your base if it's open, again all are open right now and the fleet is expanding.
Click to expand...

Does that include ORD, or is that still not available to new hires?
 
ORD is open right now, 95% sure.
 
Bjammin has great information and do listen to him -

My husband is on his last leg on his second (and hopefully final) check ride as I type this. I also just returned from Hong Kong last night and can say that after 10 years of hell with Comair, Cathay is truly a class act. We are going to be based in ANC (by choice) and his schedule is 3/4 three day trips (ANC - HK with 24 hour layover - HK), giving him more than 21 days off a month. Pay for US freighter is currently lower than PAX, as mentioned, however they are loosing guys over this and are working on making Cargo and Pax more even. Even with that, they give 15% of your pay for you to invest in 401K yourself, so having over 6400 a month to start is not bad at all. While in training and while in overnights at HK, you receive an envelope with perdiem which covers more than you would ever need and most guys just pocket the rest..Medical insurance is also AWESOME !! (no co-pays, even for drugs)

One thing to keep in mind - they have recently changed their training and now it is all done in half the time with the same information crammed into you, so the fail rate is climbing. My husband has always been top of his class at everything with flying and will tell all that training is like no other. It is VERY VERY hard and you are left to learn most of the book work on your own. They dont just judge your flying skills, they look at EVERYTHING (your calls, when they are said, how they are said, how you touch the control panel, your seat positioning etc etc)

Remember the big picture - Cathay is buying airlines and airplanes left and right and now flys all over China which is where all the money in the world is. They have never furloughed a pilot and probably never will. If you are looking for job security, look no further.. After spending 3 yrs flying cargo, you can go to HK and give your kids some of the best education their (CX's) money can buy AND your home is on them as well..

Just my two cents

P.S. If your tired of peanuts and pretzels, their food is also GREAT!!
 
Milehye,
you can' give your kids pollution to breathen HKG! and CX terminates employmnet contracts for pilots all the time, often for no "particular reason. CX is great but its not the holy grail you make it out to be. Like your husband said the "training is hard" the Checking far harder!
 
Last I checked - Holy Grail is not a term I used, nor is it a term I would use for any airline in the world. While termination is easier for them due to lack of union representation (whatever the hell thats good for), saying they fire pilots for no reason is like saying it rains everyday in Seattle - it's simply gossip according to the word of "The Hanger" that gets better with every one liner a person puts on here. One thing this company is not - is financially stupid. Spend five minutes researching their owners (The Swire Group) and you will see that they are well on their way to taking over Asia. If they fire someone - like it or not, they were probably doing something wrong - that is how you keep a reputation for being the best.
People come on here ( and hopefully many other places) looking for information to make an educated decision on their careers as we did. I was simply stating more than one side to this job. There is bad AND good.
As for the pollution you so polited stated I can give my son, Hong Kong is actually not one of the top 10 worst polluted cities in the world - it's also not the only place to live if you stay there for 3 years. Most of the guys living there ( as we will) live on the beaches outside the area where the air is much nice.
 
You did my new-hire indoc in Sanford back in '01. I was a strike casualty. I Just put 2 and 2 together and figured out who you were. Glad to know you've moved on from CMR. Hope you're enjoying CP. You never forget your instructors but you'd never know who I was since I was one of many new-hire EMB students.:)
 
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~~~^~~~ said:
How long to hold ATL?
Click to expand...

Well thats a tough one to answer. The employee website only shows PAX base vacancies and not freighter. So the only folks who can answer that accurately is the basings office.

Depending when you join and where the current guys on that base are in their 3 year commitment will determine the vacancies so it could be right away (not likely) or a year + possibly.

The latest rumor is for MIA to open but we don't have the crews to support that operation. If and when it does that might open some more vacancies.
 

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