Cathay

[cr7driver]

I have heard that Cathay hires US nationals. Do you have to have an ICAO ticket prior to applying or is that part of their training? Any info on Cathay would help.
Thx

 

[jacko123]

They will give you what you need once you are hired.

 

[propdog]

FAA license is an ICAO approved license. Cathay will take care of all license conversions if required. The best source for Cathay Pacific info. is www.pprune.com Go to that website and look under the fragnant harbour forum. Good luck.

 

[Bjammin]

You have to take a few conversion exams once you get hired by the company, but you will be in Hong Kong then and in training for the airline. They prep you VERY well for these exams and are truly only a small PITA.

 

[General Lee]

You have to take a few conversion exams once you get hired by the company, but you will be in Hong Kong then and in training for the airline. They prep you VERY well for these exams and are truly only a small PITA.

Do you guys only do ANC to Hong Kong, and ANC to the large US cities? Do you ever do any intra Asia cargo flying or Europe?


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Spooky 1]

Do you guys only do ANC to Hong Kong, and ANC to the large US cities? Do you ever do any intra Asia cargo flying or Europe?


Bye Bye--General Lee

Looks like the General is wisely looking for opportunities beyond DAL. Smart!

 

[General Lee]

Looks like the General is wisely looking for opportunities beyond DAL. Smart!

Wrong. I have always wanted to know where those guys fly to. I have seen them up in ANC and other places we fly. Thanks for caring, though.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[pdkaviator]

Do you think their only lanes are HKG to U.S. ???? Do some research.

 

[General Lee]

Do you think their only lanes are HKG to U.S. ???? Do some research.

Who the heck are you? I know a lot more about them then you do. And, their main "lanes" (where the heck do you come up with that line?) are from Hong Kong to the US for the cargo birds. That is what we are talking about here, since the guy that was hired flies only the cargo 744s out of ANC. I was just asking him if he did anything else. The US based Cathay guys do mostly the US mainland to ANC and nonstop to HKG---and I was just asking if that was correct.

Try not to look like too much of an idiot now PDKaviator.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[DC-8_FR8]

Think again

I have heard that Cathay hires US nationals. Do you have to have an ICAO ticket prior to applying or is that part of their training? Any info on Cathay would help.
Thx

With your experience, you would have no trouble getting a frieght gig. Most of the rest of the world that are not test pilots are given a second officer positions in HK. I don't think that you would you would see the US for a long time.

 

[Dave Benjamin]

I have a friend who is HK based on the A-330 flying pax. He mostly flies to the US west coast, lays over a while, and then back to HK. I've seen his schedule and it's mostly LAX, SFO, and YVR.

I'm not sure how long he has been with CX but it has not been for more than 1.5 or 2 years. He told me that he might be able to get US based fairly soon. It's a lot different than working for a US airline so I'd do some serious research before taking a job there. It's definitely not for everyone.

 

[ShadowFlight]

I got the impression, from several online sources, that Cathay was hiring US-based cargo pilots. Their bases were ANC, LAX, SFO, and ORD. From what's been posted here, is that NOT correct? Are most newhire cargo pilots HKG-based?

Peace

SF

 

[center]

A couple points,

We do not fly the A330 to the Western US, it does not have the required range. We fly the A340, however, to YVR (in Canada) but not to LAX. Los Angeles is scheduled all 744. If indeed with CX, and on an A340 (Hong Kong based), with about 2 years in company one would definately not be an FO. One would be a Second Officer. You are correct though, CX is very different from a US airline and it is not for everyone.

Cheers

 

[TNPILOT]

How long would one have to be with Cathay before they could base advance to the US? I believe LAX and JFK are the only US domiciles, correct? Thanks. How is life for the family in HK?

 

[jehtplane]

How long would one have to be with Cathay before they could base advance to the US? I believe LAX and JFK are the only US domiciles, correct? Thanks. How is life for the family in HK?

If you go to the freighter you start based in the US.Check out there website for Direct Entry First Officer program it explains it all.

 

[Bjammin]

I'm an direct entry FO based out of LAX. I had 2800hrs, mostly jet, when I applied, no airline experience, and about 1000hrs multi-engine jet PIC.

What usually happens is the frieghters originate out of LAX, JFK, or now ATL and DAL then we fly through a secondary city like JFK-ORD, ATL-DAL or LAX-SFO then all those flights go to ANC. From there the jet will go across the pond to HKG while the crew spends the night and grabs a flight to HKG the next day or fly a flight coming in from HKG to one of the other domestic cities. If the crew goes to HKG we will spend a night or 2 then do the reverse. 2 or 3 of those a month with max out our hours.
You have a remote possibility of doing some domestic Asia flights out of HKG for a couple of days before you return to the states.
During training almost all my flights were on the PAX 744 flying all around Asia and based out of HKG.
As far as being an FO, I fly with almost all US or Canadian nationals and only see HKG for a day or 2 at a time.
Second Officers will be on the A-340 or 744 PAX and WILL be based out of HKG for a while. There are ways to get to the states after a year or 2, but it usually involves commuting back to HKG. SO's usually fly the ultra long haul PAX flights HKG to Europe or to LAX, SFO, JFK.
Sometimes we have a HKG based SO fly with us on the frieghter, but usually our crew of 3 is a captain and 2 type rated FO's with one being a relief captain.

The US bases are LAX, JFK, ORD and ANC. Maybe ATL and DAL someday.

Life in HKG is what you make of it. I absolutly love the city and can't wait to be based there eventually, but some get island fever and don't want to move their kids there because of the bad pollution. The air is VERY bad, but they are taking measures to improve the quality.
Hope this helps.

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

Thanks B, always good info.