Cathay set to recruit 800 cadet pilots

Cathay Pacific will recruit 800 more cadet pilots this year and next year, as the airline saw its first batch of 19 cadet pilot graduates after the three-year pandemic, who will be joining the flagship carrier next month as second officers.

The airline said it is currently training 400 cadet pilots.

All 19 graduating pilots were admitted to the program before Covid, but as the pandemic halted the course, they restarted their flight training last year.

In 2022, the cohort headed to Adelaide, Australia for hands-on flight training.

Cathay has two hands-on training locations in Arizona and Adelaide, and cadets are assigned to either depending on the availability of spots.

Secondary school graduates aged 18 or above with good English skills, including math or science skills, and who are physically fit can complete their entrance tests with the right to live and work in Hong Kong or the mainland may become Cathay cadet pilots.

However, applicants with an aviation degree will be given priority.

Cathay's head of corporate affairs Carolyn Leung Yuet-fong, said as the company sponsored the training and made "great training investments," graduating pilots must stay in the company for the first six years after graduating.

During the press meeting following the cadet graduation ceremony at Cathay Pacific City yesterday, three graduate representatives smiled when they were asked about their flying experience.

"The only reason I continued to be a cadet pilot (after the two year halt) was passion. We saw staff cuts and the pandemic during our wait. But I love to fly, so I still persist till the end," said Desmond Tsui, the batch's best cadet for flying.

Tsui, a psychology graduate from the University of Hong Kong who used to work as a civil servant, said the greatest difference between his old and new job is its volatility. "As cliche as it sounds, the sky is now our office. We have to deal with emergency situations such as turbulence all the time. I think the sky suited me a lot more than the four-walled office," he said.

Tsui added that the cadet pilot graduates see themselves as the "pioneers of the industry."

Asked about his non-aviation background, Tsui said: "I was better able to notice details in conversation such as the gestures and expressions of others, and I can communicate with the copilots and passengers."

When asked about insights for future applicants, Annie Chan, a cadet pilot who won the best theoretical knowledge award, encouraged people to "do more activities related to the aviation industry."

She said applicants should "know more people with the same dream, because it is hard to walk this path alone."

A cadet pilot who won The Sir Adrian Swire Trophy for being the best cadet of his batch Tom Kwan, said: "When you reach the standards (of the aviation companies), they will come and seek you."

Deputy flight training manager Joe Fung, who is also a captain at the airline, said: "From the many cadets I've seen over the years, many of them do not have aviation related backgrounds."

Cadet pilot graduates will become second officers at Cathay after graduation, with a target annual salary of HK$564,000, annual leave of 21 days and discounted travel fares. Asked about the time frame of the graduates hitting the skies, the company's representatives declined to comment.