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Cathay Pacific

Old 06-05-2010, 05:20 PM
  #51  
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Default Something is up at Cathay.

Cathay poised to place order for widebodies
By Leithen Francis

Cathay Pacific Airways will shatter Airbus's A380 sales aspirations as it prepares for a widebody buying spree, with deals for long-range twinjets but no near-term plans to order the superjumbo.

The Hong Kong airline, which is a major Boeing 747 operator, has long been a target for Airbus's A380 salesmen. However, according to industry sources a request for proposals issued by Cathay in November centred on Airbus A330/A350s and Boeing 777/787s.

The airline is expected to finalise these orders this year, with one source suggesting that a decision will be made in June, ahead of the northern summer holidays.

Cathay chief executive Tony Tyler declines to comment on the RFP, citing commercial and confidentiality reasons, but confirms the airline "is evaluating new-generation Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft"

The Oneworld carrier needs new widebodies to cater for market growth and allow it to phase out older aircraft, say the sources. The carrier has also said publicly it wants to retire its ageing 777-200s although Tyler says the phase-out will not begin this year.

Cathay operates 20 747-400s, some of which are more than 20 years old, and Airbus and Boeing have been trying hard to secure deals to replace them with A380s or 747-8Is.

The airline was involved in the A380 programme from the start, taking part in early A3XX customer focus group meetings 15 years ago. Airbus remains bullish about the role that Cathay's main base will play in the ultra-large aircraft sector, forecasting that Hong Kong will be the largest hub for such aircraft over the next 20 years.

The airline is already a customer for the cargo version of the 747-8, with 10 on order, but industry sources say Cathay has no near-term interest in ordering ultra-large passenger widebodies. One option could be to streamline its fleet by adding more 777-300ERs to replace the 747-400s.

Cathay already has a large A330-300 and 777-300ER fleet, with Flightglobal's ACAS database showing 32 and 17 aircraft, respectively. Orders for eight A330-300s and 13 777-300ERs (plus six options) are held. Deliveries of the A330s will start at year-end and conclude in 2013, says Cathay, when the last of the firm -300ER orders are also due.
Couple this news with the fact that crews are being run hard with no relief in sight and I think something should be happening soon.

I know I run the risk of handing out false hope but I think more DEFOs will be needed sooner rather than later. While much of the focus the past two years has been on cadet recruitment CX has never stopped accepting DEFO applications.

Those intersted should submit or update their apps in case the window opens.
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Old 06-06-2010, 08:24 AM
  #52  
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Long term, yes we will need to hopefully hire a ton of pilots. Remember though that if this massive wide body order comes to light there are a few things to consider:

1. Delivery slots will more than likely be a couple or more years away.
2. How many jets are destined to wear the Dragonair (KA) livery.
3. What will the outcome of the SO by pass pay case be. (if the company loses the appeal, they have to assess all 250+ SOs before they can hire a FO).

I have heard that the order, if placed, will double the current fleet.

FO
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Old 06-06-2010, 07:09 PM
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Swire, Haeco Halted on Transaction Statements; Cathay Suspended
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By Wendy Leung and Kyunghee Park

June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Swire Pacific Ltd. and affiliate Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. halted their shares from trading in the city pending statements related to takeovers and mergers.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., an affiliate of Swire and Haeco, also suspended its stock ahead of a “price sensitive” announcement. The Hong Kong-based companies gave no further details in their stock exchange statements today and didn’t say whether the suspensions were related.

Cathay Pacific in September agreed to sell a HK$1.9 billion ($244 million) stake in Haeco to Swire, its largest shareholder, boosting cash holdings amid plunging travel demand. The airline still has a 15 percent stake in Haeco, Hong Kong’s largest airplane maintenance provider, while Swire owns 46 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“There is a possibility that the remaining shares may be sold,” said Kelvin Lau, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research. “Swire may want Cathay to focus more on the airline business.”

Swire owns 42 percent of Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s largest airline.

Cindy Cheung, a spokeswoman for Swire, and Carolyn Leung, a Cathay spokeswoman, declined to comment. A call to Haeco went unanswered.

Swire and Haeco both said they would make announcements “pursuant to the Hong Kong Code on Takeovers and Mergers.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Wendy Leung in Hong Kong at [email protected]; Kyunghee Park in Hong Kong at [email protected]

Last Updated: June 6, 2010 22:20 EDT
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Old 06-10-2010, 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by 4everFO View Post
Long term, yes we will need to hopefully hire a ton of pilots. Remember though that if this massive wide body order comes to light there are a few things to consider:

1. Delivery slots will more than likely be a couple or more years away.
2. How many jets are destined to wear the Dragonair (KA) livery.
3. What will the outcome of the SO by pass pay case be. (if the company loses the appeal, they have to assess all 250+ SOs before they can hire a FO).

I have heard that the order, if placed, will double the current fleet.

FO
Good points all 4everFO. However, I do think that we are no longer overstaffed and we are now fast approaching the other end of the spectrum. I expect that the company will offer a deal to the majority of the SOs so as to meet their demand for expansion while minimizing their training burden. As we know Cathay always gets what it wants.

In any case, for those in the pool and for prospective DEFOs it's looking more promising now than any time in the last three years.
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Old 06-11-2010, 11:40 PM
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Sorry, but I must be over the hill. A Second Officer was a flight engineer when I was one. And in a world where there are no more flight engineers, what kind of job is it that your are being offered? I hate to think someone would actually be recruiting you for an f.e. job, because that is a dead end position nowadays.
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Old 06-12-2010, 12:00 AM
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SO=guy that sits there during cruise and makes sure the plane does what it is supposed to do while the Capt or FO are sleeping.
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Old 06-12-2010, 12:11 AM
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Aha, thank you. Boy, I have been out of the loop as a 737 driver. We don't even think about such things.
Hmm, a relief pilot. Well, if they are going to pay for you to get a type rating and you just sit on your a#s then what would you be trying to figure out?

...Unless of course it's whether or not you want to live a much shorter life as a long-haul pilot. Just bear in mind that the stats are not in your favor. Long haul pilots suffer from a wide range of health problems, just like fat old truckers do.
...The life is very unhealthy, you are always out of time zone, never get good sleep, eat lots of airline food, don't exercise regularly. Up to you, though.
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Old 06-12-2010, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by moondriver232 View Post
Aha, thank you. Boy, I have been out of the loop as a 737 driver. We don't even think about such things.
Hmm, a relief pilot. Well, if they are going to pay for you to get a type rating and you just sit on your a#s then what would you be trying to figure out?

...Unless of course it's whether or not you want to live a much shorter life as a long-haul pilot. Just bear in mind that the stats are not in your favor. Long haul pilots suffer from a wide range of health problems, just like fat old truckers do.
...The life is very unhealthy, you are always out of time zone, never get good sleep, eat lots of airline food, don't exercise regularly. Up to you, though.
Mr. Moon, having done both I have a different view and I very much prefer long haul. The one leg I fly every 5 days is a lot less stressful then the 3-5 a day a short haul guy does.

How healthy your life is, is based on the decisions you make. Our passenger trips are very easy to stay on your home time zone.
If you stay away from the ice cream, chocolate cake, and only eat one crew meal per flight your good. When you get to your layover have a social drink, go to bed, go to the gym, and go to work. Stay away from the wings and pizza. Get some rest, dont go chasing LBFMs all night.

I flew long haul freight and made some bad decisions about how I ate and what I did. I gained lots of weight and it can be very unhealthy. You just have to be strong about your commitments and whats important.

SO's have the best lifestyles in the company. Their job isnt difficult and its a good opportunity to learn. They usually work 8-10 days a month, often in a row and have the rest of the time off. Most of them take advantage of the travel benefits and go all over South East Asia surfing, sailing, or biking.

I will say this about short haul, I enjoyed the flying more. However, I am at the point where time off and money is the most important to me and for me long haul is better.

Last edited by IndyAir Guy; 06-12-2010 at 11:17 AM.
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Old 06-12-2010, 12:17 PM
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Any updates on expat hiring for DESO? Or is it still cadets only?
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Old 06-12-2010, 05:37 PM
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Hi!

DEFO hiring has started:

Cathay Pacific - Careers : Careers Home

cliff
LFW
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