job fair
 

hi there,

Sorry to be of the topic a little bit, but I'm planing to go to the jobfair next saturday in los angeles. Just a question to you guys that have been to a job fair before. What type of dress code is required and should I bring resumes and my log book.

Fist time I'm going to one and I really don't want to go there with a suit and tie.

KDUA - Although it would be nice to be in business casual clothes or Aloha attire, an interview suit is Highly suggested. Suffice it to say, if you're not wearing a suit and tie you'll be the only one and that is not the first impression you want to make. Additionally, I suggest you bring a stack of resumes with you and if I were you I would tailor each resume to the companies you plan on handing them to. You will only get a minute or two with each company rep so be prepared to give them a quick 30 second intro about yourself. I doubt you'll need your log book although I know some of the smaller companies have been known to do interview on the spot so it's your call. Hope this helps...

Now looking at FO positions the Cathay website states the following:

An ICAO Airline Transport Pilot's License (ATPL) (obtained without exemptions) or ICAO Commercial Pilot's License (CPL) (obtained without exemptions) with passes in all ATPL ground examinations

My question is this. Do FAA certificates count as ICAO equivalent, or would I need to transfer my certificates to something else?

Also, what is the tax/cost of living situation in Hong Kong? That looks like a lot of money, but I wonder if it really is adjusted for what I assume must be pretty high rent in a city as densely populated as Hong Kong.

There is no such thing as an ICAO certificate, per se. An ICAO certificate is a certificate issued by an ICAO signatory. So yes, a FAA certificate is an ICAO certificate since the United States is a ICAO signatory.

Rent/Mortgage/Housing Assist is paid for by Cathay for those pilots on expat terms in Hong Kong.

FO

Nice, thats what I thought/hoped. I am on a 12 month contract with Pan Am Flight Academy training Chinese students. After its up I should have 1600 hours, and the Chinese connection might help. I think I'm going to go for it.

Thanks for the info.

1600 hours TT? That is pretty light for Cathay, but fill out the app and update every 6-12 months and they will call you when you get there.

FO

anybody else get the email for the may interviews in new york for cathay??

I just received one today for the New York interview.

Does anyone know where to find the new pay scale for U.S. Pax and freight?

Pay is at the following post: http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/sh...=12133&page=12

How long from app to 1st interview for you guys?

Also, I thought I read in an earlier post that someone was going to interview for SFO with a May start date. Leads me to believe that they give you city and start date that you are interviewing for before your first interview. Does this sound accurate or did I misread something?

Good luck at the interview!

From my previous post on this thread:
For those interested:
4800 TT (all mil turboprop)
4670 ME
2550 ME PIC
Submitted app 3/1/08
Interview E-Mail 3/13
Thet said to expect to see required paperwork E-Mail week of 7 April

The invitation is for SFO first week in May. I have seen other posts with folks offered interview in NY around the same time. Not sure what you mean by "start date."

On a side note, if you have been invited for an interview already, is there any advantage to attending there job fair April 12? Are they conducting spot interviews at the fair?

Thanks KODI3. I think I understand your original post now. I thought "SFO in May" meant that they were offering you a jet based out of SFO for a training date starting in May. Now I understand they offered an interview in May in SFO.

Good luck with the interview and give us a PIREP when you get back please!

ATL Base
 

Anyone trying for an ATL base. Filled out online app last week, would like the ATL base if I have a choice. Any info would be great!

Thanks

pretty sure ATL and ORD aren't available as bases. only thing going right now are JFK and LAX, canada and you can probably get Anchorage too if you wanted. try it though it may change by time you get the job.

Thanks for the info.......I appreciate all I can get!

All this talk about never wanting to live in HK. Well, you may think that when you start, but there are a lot of guys completing their freighter commitment in the U.S. and heading to HK. There is a lot of money to be made there and you may be surprised how much you like it. I would guess that the folks conducting the interview would be savvy of any BS story about wanting to live in HK. What I would suggest is opening your mind a bit and not giving them a flat out lie.

There is a lot of fun to be had in HK and I'm not just talking about the girls in Wan Chai. The air pollution definitely sucks, but that's the only major issue I have with the place.

I know I'll be going to HK if CX should see fit to look at my resume. Hopefully a scrappy young SO with an elementary command of Cantonese and no ties to the home country would be something along the lines of what they're looking for...

Flight ops could probably care less if you speak Cantonese.

FO

Fully aware of that, just saying that there are probably more than a few people out there that view relocation to HK as a less-than-catastrophic event.

I would also like the ATL base and have the opportunity for an initial interview in NYC next month. I am on the fence about whether or not to go because of my current position. I work at AirTran and going to Cathay would be an $80k to $100k/yr pay cut for the first 3 to 4 years.

I can't leave ATL for at least 9 years for several reasons, but mainly because of the situation with my step children. Eventually my wife and I would love to relocate.

Is it possible to commute to ORD or JFK? If so, what is the best way since you can't jumpseat?

What is the upgrade time on the freighter side in the U.S.?

Here's another question. Currently sitting with enough time to go to Cathay. Heres the issue. NO ATP!! And am wayyyyyy to broke to go somewhere and get it. Is the only option to get hired as a SO and go from there?

aupilot,
i'm not sure what you're making but CX has one of the best payscales out there. first year salary + per diem + 401k equivalent you're looking at about 96k gross first year FO. I heard a second year FO filed his W2 with a gross of 110k for the year. not too shabby... yes sounds like a lot of commuters out there, buying zeds or full fare to get to work. that's your only option unfortunately.

and no you need a ATP for coversion to HK license for FO...

but that's not with the new payscale, is it?

this is what I found for the new payscale for cathay pacific
http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tescopyqd9.jpg
so if that is accurate then 74000 + say 6000 in per diem + 401k match at say 11000 (15.5% of pay) then you've got $91000 for a first year guy. If you spend say $500 a month on commuting and crash pad then you'd still bring in $85000 for a first year guy.

Last year I made $184,000 plus $20,000 from the company in our B fund. That is why I was wondering what the upgrade time is for the freighter in the U.S. Looking at the new payscale once I upgraded would be making the same or more than at AirTran. Anyone know what the upgrade expectations are?

Aupilot,

Getting to the left seat at CX requires a level of hoop-jumping not required here in the US; Every training event is recorded and goes into your file for review at a later date, so a "bad day" can come back to haunt you. You have to assessed as suitable to pass the course before they'll allow you to upgrade and the whole system seems to be extremely political. I've heard of some outstanding guys that would have made great captains but were not passed because they were deemed to be "not CX captains".

One mate of mine who's been in the left seat at CX for the past 15 years, will tell you, that to fail your command course at CX is a "monkey on your back" that you will carry for the rest of your career there.

I'm not CX but I'm sure the CX guys will correct any of what I said.

all right so 96k is a little ambitious, but there is 6% raise in june so salary first year is 78-79k

yeah apparently you can go for quick upgrade within a couple years of joinining on the freighter but apparently only 1 person has ever passed

having said that i wouldn't move if i were in your shoes aupilot

That rumor is not true concerning the freighter early commands. It was true when the company tried to hire directly into the CA seat on the Classic out of Manchester. There is no way that I could see anyone off the street coming in and passing "the Cathay way" along with learning the airplane to a CA standard.

That said, I fly with guys all the time that went for the freighter command in 2-4 years and passed. This could all change though as the company is looking at possibly integrating the fleets so there would not be any designated freighter Captains. That would move the upgrade further down the road.

aupilot,
If you eventually went to Hong Kong you would make a lot more than Airtran. If you want to stay in NA, you would have to do the comparisons. On top of the payscale we get a few others like flight duty pay etc. that aren't much but do end up adding another few hundred bucks a month. A friend of mine is a 12 year CA on the freighter and all in he made just over $250K in 2007. It is up to you to decide why you want to leave Airtran. If it is purely monetary then it will take you time to make up the lost income in starting over. If there are other reasons then it may be worth it.

One more that I forgot, I don't count left over allowances in the salary. That, for me, is about $700 per month. We don't get per diem per se, we get an allowance based on someone actually looking at meals etc. on the overnight. For example, in ANC our allowance for a 24 hour period is about $134 or more depending on what time you get in. I can't eat $134 worth of grub in one day so I take home lots of leftovers. The allowance is paid in cash at the hotel so no need to go to the ATM for local currency if you go somewhere else.

thanks for the info. From comparing that with the (older?) payscale on APC, it looks like the captain and senior captain got a raise, the senior FO pay stayed pretty much the same, and the FO pay took a sizable cut.

I know there is no longetivity at CX.. like if a year 7 FO upgraded to captain, he would start over at year 1 captain pay. Is that true for the "senior" positions as well? For example, if you were an FO and you became a Senior FO, do you start over at Year 1 Senior FO pay?

I think you need to ask yourself why you would want to leave a very well paying job, where(it sounds like) you are based at home? At CX, you will initially take a pay cut that WILL take a few years to get back to. Infact i think it would take alot of years to get back to. Plus, there are guys that have been here a while still waiting on ATL. Unless, you are convinced your current employer is going out of biz or something I'd be careful. Anyway, go to the interview....your looking at approx one year from first interview to class if your successful so you will have PLENTY of time to decide. Good luck.

PS...if you do get it, and get based at home, it is very nice.

FO and Senior FO are essentially the same. You spend 4 years as an FO and then automatically become a Senior FO. The hourly duty pay is more for the SFO and you are also on higher pay.

FO

Well SO mins are 1000, you think I would need more than 1600 to be competitive?

Also, how much actual flying does the SO get to do? Do you ever get to land?

How much 'flying'? You keep the heading bug centered for 4 hours at a time. The nice part....you pretty much get paid to do nothing...you don't even do walkarounds....the bad part(if you actually enjoy flying) is you don't do any flying.

So, wait, let me get this straight. If you get hired at Cathay, you can't jumpseat in the US?

Yeah, thats the downside. The promise of travel attracts me, as does the pay, and I think living in Hong Kong would be really cool, but I do like to fly, I mean to the point that if I don't get to I start to suffer withdrawal symptoms, lol. Although with my student loans I will pretty much go anywhere that pays decently.

How the heck do you stay proficient that way? Lots of time in a simulator between trips? Also how long to FO upgrade? Like two years?

Cathay SOs "get" to enjoy a simulator training session every 2 months to keep their skills up and a check ride once every 6 months to renew your license.

1000 hours for DESOs, yes that is true, but it also says that preference will be given to multi time and turbine experience. The day I started with Cathay as an FO, all of the SOs that day had either RJ command time or Boeing or Airbus time.

Good luck, I say apply anyway and keep it updated.

FO

yeah competitive for SOs are 4-6k i'd say

That is correct. :cool:

To any Cathay Drivers out there,
I have got the final interview for an FO position coming up. During the first interview I said I would accept an SO position, but FO was my first choice. After thinking about and researching it a little more, I have changed my mind and would rather do the SO job. Is this something I could bring up at the interview or would reversing myself be frowned upon? Does anybody know what the hiring numbers are looking like? Are they looking to hire more SOs or US based freighter fleet FOs?
Also, what did you do on the day of arrival? I was told to pick up my visitor pass the first day of the interview. Does this mean they don't want me prowling around Cathay City the day prior? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

3holer

Any Cathay drivers live in the Phoenix Metro area? If you do I'll buy you lunch if you let me pick your brain a little.

If you were hired in US for freighter ops, is there anything wrong with staying in that forever? Vs going to pax eventually (and going overseas)?

Does the Pax flying pay that much more?