I always thought this was a bit humorous, especially considering that one of the founders of Cathay Pacific was an American.

 

QR seems to be the clear winner right now. I know a few people there, including a former colleague who just started. Ex-EK guy is head of training now and he's a good guy. I used to work with him a fair amount and always got along well with him.

I would not go there on the A320 though. Would also stay away from the A320 at EY.

 

It's different at EK. Of course there is the occasional DB, but the Brits, Kiwis, and Aussies at EK were pretty easy to get along with. There were more than a few of them that couldn't stand CX/KA and left to join EK back in the early 2000s.

I'm still good friends with a number of Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans, and Zims from EK.

 

I've had two former students that made it into their second officer program.
They'll be watching other people fly from the jumpseat for a long time.
From what I've heard their Tech interview is difficult.
Acquaintance who's a total geek and a lot smarter then me didn't make it through.
Cathay Pacific used to be on my list but no longer.
Truthfully not because of any changes there as I haven't followed what's going on but because my planning has changed.
What seems to be obvious though is that there is a lot more Internet forum noise on :
Cathay Pacific
Emirates

 

I was thinking the same, QR. Oh, the 320 is a terrible fleet to be on due to schedules. 330 and 777 had good rosters. Back when I was there, everyone wanted to go to EY or EK. People used to bail to EY all the time. EK wouldn't hire QR pilots due to some agreement they had with each other. Wow, how tables have turned.

 

Because we put our cowboy boots on the instrument panel?

 

The tables at QR have no turned even a tiny bit, it has just gotten worse at EK and CX and other places. Glad I left that slave ship.

I could build a mountain out of stories at QR of good guys shut out of command courses.

One guy passed the entire command selection process and was told he had passed and down well but they simply just decided not to let him upgrade. He quit.

A year later there was a 320 course for probably 6 guys that was cancelled the day it was supposed to begin. Instead of putting those guys on the next course they were all told they had to wait 18-24 months because "their course" was cancelled and therefore they must start the entire process over again, yet just a couple weeks later people junior to them upgraded in the next course. I know for sure that about half of those guys left, some to their home countries others to VNA and even KA.

Another guy had a contentious command evaluation where he was assassinated due to excessive sick calls (3 calls in something like 4 years.) Fleet manager told him to his face that as long as he was in management he would make sure he could never ever upgrade or change fleets. Like any sane person he also left the company.

There are a couple huge egos that run Qatar Airways and if you get on their bad side you can forget about any kind of job security or advancement.

 

CX was founded by an American not co founded. The Aussie came later.

CX was then stolen by the Brits in the 50s.

Heres whats being said at CX, "It was just a small iceberg but you need not worry as this ship is unsinkable"! Near, far wherever you are.

Wave goodbye Leonardo!

 

Because Americans are better pilots and the aussies and brits just cant wrap their heads around that.

 

From a passenger perspective:
They are my least favourite airline to fly on in Asia. It is very similar to AA or UAL. I'm sitting in a Cathay biz lounge right now. Food is sub-par. Carpeting and furniture should have been replaced years ago... VERY shabby. Reminds me of a crappy UAL lounge. They have definitely gone down hill...