Cathay SO paperwork
 

Received an email this morning to fill out a medical and flight time summary for their second officer recruitment. Anyone know how many people they are looking for, competitive flight time, time to a U.S. base, etc?

There are no US bases for SO's. I will also add that at this time there are extremely limited opportunities for US bases for FO and Capt. Be very careful with the information CX provides you with.

Cathay is not the airline it use to be as far as a "career" airline for US pilots. Do a google search and you will find a ton of information on their new SO program. You will be Hong Kong based without a housing allowance which makes life miserable since rent is so high.

Murkdaddy

Cathay SO paperwork
 

I was lucky enough to get an interview. and the recruiter said one is an SO for seven years and hardly gets to fly the plane at al wxcept the sims. but living in hong kong with the pay they have is pretty much the same as being a 2nd year fo at a regional here in the States.
But its a good career move coz you will /might become an FO faster and then its all better.

And last I checked for the SO program they were only hiring HK permanent residents.

With the way HKG is being overrun by the PRC, do you really want to invest in a career there?

I was waste deep in the Cathay hiring process a couple of years ago. With the current pay rates you will be living in a slum in Kowloon, and get to watch the FOs head to the Mid-Levels to their nice apartment. Pay is almost unlivable in HK.
5-7 years as a SO
No US bases, and even when you move to FO it could be years before you see a US base (if they're still around).

What once looked like a very good career airline is no more, do your homework and look at prices.
HK is not a place that you want to live in a bad area, but on the pay you can't afford anything else.

Why?
 

Why do you want to work for such low wages, and assume so much debt? That company wants you to agree to stay for 6 years, or have to pay back a huge loan they give you for repeating the ratings that you have already earned.

Thanks for all the info, I think I'm going to skip Cathay

I posted this on another professional pilot website, but I fly with a really good chap who has South African and UK citizenship. Did a stint with Cathay.

I asked him "So, how was Cathay"

He replies "Errrrrrrrr(pause), if I were in Flt Ops and conducted interviews, my only two questions would be 1. Are you from Oz
2. Are you from NZ

From my experience, absolutely true. Oz looks after Oz, period.
Hard pressed to hear an American accent with a Cathay call sign.