I have been with Cathay Pacific for 15 months now. I have been checked to the
line as a Second Officer for 6 months or so and have nothing but great things to
say for the job and for the company. For me working for Cathay Pacific is
working for the best airline in the world. Working as a second officer has
been a rewarding challenging position thus far and with the right mind set will
continue to be so. Cathay Pacific does not hire pilots to be second officers
they hire future captains, pilots who are devoted to continued learning and
development.
Before comming to Cathay Pacific I was working on the west coast of Canada
flying freight initially in a Navajo and then in an MU-2. The initial years of
a pilots life seem with consistency to be years of turmoil and personal
sacrifice to make the move to a career airline. With no doubt those years are
worth the effort!!! I have wanted to work for Cathay Pacific since 1996 when my
commercial pilots licence was nearing completion. At that time I contacted the
company and remained in contact with them updating my profile until such time as
I was granted an interview, and now here I am. I am working for Cathay Pacific
Airways and am flying the Boeing 747-400. Many pilots do not refer to working
as a second officer (or relief pilot) as flying but the job is very real and it
is as challenging as you want to make it. After being hired with Cathay
Pacific we were flown to Adelaide in Autralia where at the BAE flight training
academy we were starting our careers with Cathay. We were there for a month
conducting what is known as a "finess" course. We did a quick type rating in a
Beech Duchess for the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and then moved into a
modified 737 simulator where we were introduced to Cathay Pacific procedures and
standard opperations. During our 7 simulator sessions we were also conducting
classes in aviation subjects for the exams that would be required by the HKCAD
for converting our licences. I held an ATPL in Canada and was required to write
9 conversion exams when returning to Hong Kong. That represented our first week
in Hong Kong. After passing the exams we started our introductory courses with
Cathay Pacific. Generally a couple of days of tours around Cathay Pacific City
and then into the ground school. Our ground school was no different from the
Captains or First Officers in fact many are on course with you. The ground
school is primarily done through CBT (computer based training) where you make
your schedule around the outline and are responsible for two exams a week for
three weeks. During this time we also did a number of fixed based sim sessions
with technicians who would work to solidify what we were learning in the CBT.
During this time we also had a number of FMC simulator sessions to practice
using the Flight Management Computer and the Autopilot Flight Director System.
After this section of training was completed we began our full motion sim
training which consisted of 6 sessions and 3 flight tests. Once completed we
were given an observation flight and then had 9sectors of line training. These
were actual line flights that were done with training captains and would
include many different elements of line flight and company procedures. The 10th
sector was the "line check", five trips in total. Each trip was separated by a
minimum of 5 days off and would have one sim session before the actual line
check. Now that I am checked to the line I fly a regular schedule of roughly
three trips a month and maybe a block of reserve which is 5 or so days of time
"on call". We have sim sessions every month or two that are geared towards
continuing the training schedule that we left off with after our initial
sessions of sim training.
Cathay Pacific is a wonderful company to work for and the life of an airline
pilot has been relatively everything I expected. In the last six months I have
flown around the world to many destinations, London, Frankfurt, Paris,
Johanesburg, Vancouver, LA, and Sydney to list a few.
We operate a four pilot
crew to most destinations in the 744 except Australia. This means that the four
of us are like two crews and hence we split the time. After top of climb or as
specified by the organization of the crew I will hop in the seat and do 5-8 hrs.
Cathay Pacific is the pioneer of Ultra Long Haul flying and our Hong Kong to LA
flight is the longest operating sector currently in the world. My longest
flight has been 15hrs and 45min. LAX-HKG. The life of an S/O at Cathay Pacific
is one of learning. For myself I am coming from flying an airplane that weighs
in at below 12500lbs to flying an airplane that has engines that weigh more than
that. Flying is flying and the experience that you gain in the very beging of
your career can be some of the best but there is a definite level of difference
that takes time to adjust to and having the center seat on take off and on
landing offers a great deal of learning potential...not to mention another set
of eyes working the cockpit.
Living in Hong Kong as been a wonderful opportunity to experience a different
culture and take a look at my own life...personal growth is a wonderful thing.
We have continued to maintain many of the things that we like to do. I have
enjoyed the access to computer and technology items here in Hong Kong. My wife
and I traveled to Macau to furnish our flat with some furniture. We have
enjoyed meeting new people and experiencing the world from different eyes so to
speak. I continue to keep in contact with hockey and the many sports that I
used to enjoy in Canada. There is a great ice hockey league here which I will
try to get into next year. For the mean time I enjoy playing roller hockey
twice a week when I am home in a fully equiped arena. My wife and I have been
doing some mountain biking, hiking and general touring. We are going to start
rock climbing and scuba diving is also on the schedule for the next few months.
Next month we are going to go to Thailand. I have managed to bring my wife to
LA and London so far and will take her next month with me to Paris. Most of our
layovers are only around 28 to 36 hrs but that is enough to play tourist for a
day.
In my short time at Cathay Pacific I have had nothing but respect for all of the
crews that I have worked with. Everyone that I have crewed with have been
professional and team orientated. I can expect an upgrade in a couple of years
or perhaps somewhat sooner but when that comes I will be given the opportunity
to fly as a First Officer on an Airbus A330 or on the Boeing 777.
In short, I
love the company, I love the aircraft, I love the flying and most of all I love
the career.