Cathay Pacific Q's

[vtwin]

And to be truthful, alot of American guys come to Cathay with a 'tude.

I disagree. Most of us came with great attitudes which have been slowly and in some cases suddenly dismantled by the checking department that runs this airline with impunity

A lot of American pilots with backgrounds at legacy carriers are looking at a returning when recalled and are trying to got to UPS or FEDEX.
CX is totally different than US domestic airlines and not for everybody.

 

[Airbusdrvr]

Anything you know about airlines does not apply at CX!
with the 20 guys who joined around my time only 1 has been assessed suitable for command training first go. the other 19.
4 fired at different stages of their careers for different reason
8 resigned, 2 because they were not going to upgrade ever!
2 failed command courses
1 command taken away
4 assessed not yet suitable for training
How do you like those numbers?

 

[Brown Cow]

Airbusdrvr..........those numbers are horrible. Had a look at the salaries, too. They are just as horrible. To be a lifetime FO and make $8600/month. Now that's a recipe for suicide.

 

[ACT700]

Why are people under the impression that they are badly wanted? I'm sure Cathay will survive without you!
That's the way they do things-deal with it. No one's putting a gun to your head to apply/work there.

The good thing is, IMHO, that it is a known fact-unlike some companies that dangle the golden carrot and feed you bull$hit until you get in.
At least with them you know what you're up against from the beginning.

 

[Bjammin]

I may be stuppid or something, but when I look at my schedule, the pay, and my base I think have it very good.

Jan schedule - 1, 5 day trip at the end of the month and 4 days reserve.

Pay - over $7000 take home as a 2nd year FO

Base - LAX and live in San Diego and can stay there FOREVER!!!

Training department - gave me all the breaks and help I needed to go from a single seat, no glass, no autopilot guy with 2800 hours to 747-400 FO. It was not the horror story people talk about, but actually a very good experience.

It's all about attitude. Guys with bad ones dissappear, guys with good ones have a great quality of life.

Maybe it's just me, but I truly like it here.

 

[Brown Cow]

Bjammin! A formidable website lists the 2nd year pay at $5290. How is it that you make $1700 more per month and pay no taxes. If you are working 9 days per month, then you make more than UAL Captains did before 9-11. There are a lot of people who would like to get on with that outfit and you are telling them lies. By the way "stupid" is spelled with one "p".

We all know you love working for Cathay, you tell us all the time. Now, post correct information. The reason you are at Cathay is because you did well on the interview, period. The problem most have is getting that far. Congratulations on that achievement. It is far greater than learning to fly the 74.

 

[Bjammin]

I get about $1000 us per month in per diem, plus the $4 dollar something per hour flight pay, plus the 15.5% retirement money that I take in cash and invest it myself. All this equals $7000 PLUS take home. None of this includes profit sharing.

Again, pay check after taxes is anywhere from $5900 to $6400 not including overtime then at least $1000 a month in per diem in CASH from the hotel front desks. Do you want to see pay stubs?

And I'm sorry I pressed "P" twice, MY GOD!!!!


I pride myself on giving accurate information on the company, I would NEVER steer anyone wrong and would never post something I was not sure about without a disclaimer. I have had at least 10 friends get interviews with a few being successful. These are all guys interviewing for FO with less then 3000 hours and NO airline experience.

I'm with Cathay because it is where I wanted to work. I could go with SWA or FedEx, but I truly like the oppertunities at Cathay. We have guys in their early thirties as 744 captains and temp bases all over the world as the airline is rapidly expanding.

Alot of people would not like Cathay, great, but for the ones that would I will give you my thoughts and facts, period.

 

[(o) (o)]

Pay - over $7000 take home as a 2nd year FO

that may sound like a lot of money for a 2nd year guy in post 9/11 world. But one needs to realize that it DOES NOT go up all that much from there!!

Flew with a 9 year F/O on the pax fleet the other day and he makes roughly 9,000 a month!! 9 years!!

Now, a heavy jet F/O with nearly a decade with the company pulling down 9,000 is NOT MUCH money. no matter how you look at it.

If any of you want to see the PAX payscale, send me a PM. (basically your pay will be just about as much as any RJ capt. in the states to start, goes up 500 bucks a year (monthly), expect to be S/O for 4 years).

And please, do not tell me "what about the housing allowance?". because it goes to the landlord not your own pocket. Some guys will buy property but that's an investment with certain risks involved in it.

As for training and getting fired or held back: Please click the link below:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=251242

It's a great place to come and get your heavy jet hours then apply to other places (like almost every other American I know at CX).

Currently they are having real problems with folks NO SHOWING at interviews and even NO SHOWING for class!!

Just the truth.

BJAMMIN:...What's with the B737 type rating man?? I thought you love it at CX....LOL...geeez, you're not applying to SWA are you??

 

[(o) (o)]

None of this includes profit sharing.

Correct, we DID NOT get any profit sharing this year. I believe CX made about 2 million US a day in profits.

Heard this second hand: people are saying that they decided to give us 3888 HK dollars in September after cancelling our profit shares in the summer was because planes were/are showing up at the gate with ZERO of the expensive wines on board left. The p*ssed off cabin crew drained everything down the toilet before landing. Every bottle emptied! Might be BS, but makes a good story at the bar.

CX pay is just a little better than regional jet pay, S/Os are bailing out to all kinds of places, I met a guy couple months ago that went to Spirit!!

CX recruits people with strong international background, like guys with families abroad and such. They do that because they know there will be other reason for them to hang around (reasons other than the "such great pay")

Like Browncow pointed out...$ 5200/mo to fly the whale around...dang I made that as commuter pilot!

 

[Bjammin]

I love the bashing I get for enjoying my job!! Funny.

I got the 737 type rating so as to keep my options open. SWA is a great airline and it was a tough choice. I DID NOT get through the interview. Why? who knows. I probably could have got a second interview, but after intervieing at CX and realizing the oppertunities I could have there I found CX the better choice for me. If SWA would have hired me first, I may have gone there and always wondered about CX. I can tell you that now I'm with CX and have many friends at SWA I know I made the right choice.

My buds on the PAX fleet bring home well in access of 10K a month. I don't know why your figures don't add up.

I believe the story about last years profit share. Did you see the new formula for this year?

Guys are leaving for other airlines. I thinks it's great for 2 reasons. 1 - gets rid of people that don't want to be here. 2 - the airline will take a hit in the pocket book due to lack of aircrew and change their ways.

Airplanes may be parked over the summer due to lack of crews and with the oppertunities here in the states applicants are not in supply, good!

The airline makes money and is expanding BIG TIME!!!! They NEED people to stay and people to apply. Watch this space for changes.

I cleared $5700 a month my first year not including per-diem. I think ASA offer me $18 an hour first year and $35 a hour 2nd year. Questions?

We hired 150 this year, 180 for next year, and 250 for the year after that. If they want these numbers they will need better conditions of service to attract them, again, GOOD!

 

[(o) (o)]

BJAMMIN,

As long as there are such things in the world as Canadians, Australians and South Africans(read: 3rd world countries of aviation). CX will NEVER have to pay more. There are endless supplies of B1900 drivers from those places applying.

I'm glad you're enjoying your job, but some of the info you are presenting to the folks are vastly inaccurate! Please don't steer them in the wrong directions, tell 'em the facts! PLEASE.

As for the pax pay, I have the conditions of service right in from of me here..are you saying that these numbers aren't correct and I will be paid more? Can I hold you to that?

As for them parking airplanes, I wouldn't hold my breath. They will hire Direct Entry Captains if they need to fill those slots due to 90% command failire rates. They've done it before and will do it again, right in your face with a smile!

So you got turned down by SWA and feels that it was the best thing that ever happened?

Let me log off and laugh for a minute...

 

[Bjammin]

You know what, LEAVE THE AIRLINE!!! You're obviously not happy here.

My info IS accurate. Are you saying my pay stub has been wrong for the past 2 years!!!

I'm not going to go back in forth when we both know the conditions of service. I know what guys are bringing home. Are they lying to me or just adding up all the other items that aren't in the conditions of service?


You don't know me at ALL so how do you know that i'm not happy to get turned down by SWA?

I live in San Diego, fly 744's, spend overnights in HKG, BKK, TPE, and Manilia, get 6 weeks off a year, fly MAX 14 days a month and got paid more 1st year and will make more overall that a career with SWA.

I love the guys I fly with and enjoy long haul.

The ONLY negitives with the company are a little anti-Americanism and guys that BITCH!

Don't pretend to know what's best for me when you can't even figure out what's best for yourself.

 

[(o) (o)]

You know what, LEAVE THE AIRLINE!!! You're obviously not happy here.

My info IS accurate. Are you saying my pay stub has been wrong for the past 2 years!!!

I'm not going to go back in forth when we both know the conditions of service. I know what guys are bringing home. Are they lying to me or just adding up all the other items that aren't in the conditions of service?


You don't know me at ALL so how do you know that i'm not happy to get turned down by SWA?

I live in San Diego, fly 744's, spend overnights in HKG, BKK, TPE, and Manilia, get 6 weeks off a year, fly MAX 14 days a month and got paid more 1st year and will make more overall that a career with SWA.

I love the guys I fly with and enjoy long haul.

The ONLY negitives with the company are a little anti-Americanism and guys that BITCH!

Don't pretend to know what's best for me when you can't even figure out what's best for yourself.

Ok then,

How is it that a guy getting paid $5200 bucks BEFORE TAXES that are having to be paid in Hong Kong AND U.S. bring home $7000 dollars?

Even George W. Bush knows that's fuzzy math!!

If you know anything about SWA's pay system, you wouldn't be shooting your mouth about how a cargo puke at CX will make MORE MONEY over the span of a career. You're even more stupid than I first thought!

Why do you constantly bring up the "744" BS? Who gives a S#ht?? Does it make your penis any longer? It's just another airplane, stop throwing it into every equation. BKK, HKG, TPE, or whatever...just another overnight. At the end of the day, it's about how much money you make and how well your family is living. Which obviously isn't very good if you make $5200/mo before taxes.

Please visit http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com for complete pay info on CX.

 

[Sunnfun]

Ok then,

How is it that a guy getting paid $5200 bucks BEFORE TAXES that are having to be paid in Hong Kong AND U.S. bring home $7000 dollars?

He explained it quite alright here:

I get about $1000 us per month in per diem, plus the $4 dollar something per hour flight pay, plus the 15.5% retirement money that I take in cash and invest it myself. All this equals $7000 PLUS take home. None of this includes profit sharing.

Again, pay check after taxes is anywhere from $5900 to $6400 not including overtime then at least $1000 a month in per diem in CASH from the hotel front desks. Do you want to see pay stubs?

And above that post he stated that this reflects 2nd year pay. This is also on par with the Info I get from pprune and CPs T&C Info on their website.

Why are you so angrily trying to make him look bad for his decision to go to Cathay? Maybe because you feel bad about your decision to go there? Maybe you should think about your options with SWA/FedEX/Whoever instead of blasting Bjammin on here for his decisions.

Everybody is in charge of their own destiny and if you hate to work at a certain place you should leave, no matter how much you make. It's just killing you from the inside. Bad Vibes, man. Try smiling every once in a while, it makes you feel better...

Anyways, I appreciate Bjammins info here and hope he keeps us up on the goings-on over there.

Cheers,
Sunnfun

 

[(o) (o)]

He explained it quite alright here:



And above that post he stated that this reflects 2nd year pay. This is also on par with the Info I get from pprune and CPs T&C Info on their website.

Why are you so angrily trying to make him look bad for his decision to go to Cathay? Maybe because you feel bad about your decision to go there? Maybe you should think about your options with SWA/FedEX/Whoever instead of blasting Bjammin on here for his decisions.

Everybody is in charge of their own destiny and if you hate to work at a certain place you should leave, no matter how much you make. It's just killing you from the inside. Bad Vibes, man. Try smiling every once in a while, it makes you feel better...

Anyways, I appreciate Bjammins info here and hope he keeps us up on the goings-on over there.

Cheers,
Sunnfun

Even with those equations. they're inaccurate. We do not get 1000 bucks a month on per diem. Unless you're working 20 days a month and constantly in a hotel.

The per hour pay that he stated is also incorrect. We don't get paid 4 dollars/hour.

I do not have a problem with Bjammin, heck I don't even know the guy. I just wish his info on here are accurate so guys don't leave good jobs to come to CX and realize it's a mistake.

As for your assuption that I made a mistake, you're 100 percent correct! I got a job to fly a King Air in PHX and I'm excited as heck to get out. Can't wait to get out of jail.

 

[Sunnfun]

As for your assuption that I made a mistake, you're 100 percent correct! I got a job to fly a King Air in PHX and I'm excited as heck to get out. Can't wait to get out of jail.

Good for you! Really!

And as far as those numbers go, I guess you should verify those with the HR People at CP and not on an anonymous pilot board. He says they are on his pay stub; gotta take his word for it. I for one would not leave a job for something someone said on FI...

Good luck in your new job!

 

[Bjammin]

Thanks for backing me Sunn!!!

I get $4.25 an hour flight duty pay. I don't know what else to say about that.

Let's go through the Per-diem. On this last trip I got $309 twice for spending 2, 2 and 1/2 days in ANC going back and forth to Hong Kong. Then I got $1400 Hong Kong Dollars (about 170 USD) when I got to Hong Kong.

That's $778 on one 6 day trip cash, tax free. I got at least $400 on my other 5 day trip this month. That's about an average month for me.

Now in other counties the per-diem is less or more depending on prices of food.


I try to post what is accurate to me and people's pay checks that I know.

Like a freighter captain named Joe who made $3200 USD in overtime for a 2 day, weekend trip, or the US freighter captain on the B scale who made over 300K in one year.

It's not all about the conditions of service!

 

[(o) (o)]

Thanks for backing me Sunn!!!

I get $4.25 an hour flight duty pay. I don't know what else to say about that.

Let's go through the Per-diem. On this last trip I got $309 twice for spending 2, 2 and 1/2 days in ANC going back and forth to Hong Kong. Then I got $1400 Hong Kong Dollars (about 170 USD) when I got to Hong Kong.

That's $778 on one 6 day trip cash, tax free. I got at least $400 on my other 5 day trip this month. That's about an average month for me.

Now in other counties the per-diem is less or more depending on prices of food.


I try to post what is accurate to me and people's pay checks that I know.

Like a freighter captain named Joe who made $3200 USD in overtime for a 2 day, weekend trip, or the US freighter captain on the B scale who made over 300K in one year.

It's not all about the conditions of service!

Yeah, go ahead and post your pay stub since you are so "keen" on letting people see it.

 

[(o) (o)]

the US freighter captain on the B scale who made over 300K in one year.

Whatever it is that you're smoking, can you save me some?

I think even CX's management themselves would have a laugh if they heard you say that.

12K a month does not equate to 300K/year. (unless you go by the chinese calendar, which has like 40 months in a year?)

Not even if you add all the per diems in the world.

300K a year to work 9 days in a month? BOY those guys over at FedEx must really be stupid!

 

[Bjammin]

I'm done here. If people want info on Cathay feel free to PM me.

I post what I get 1st hand from guys I fly with, the conditions of service, and my own experience.

I done battleing with disgruntled posters.

Good luck elsewhere.