Grounded pilots: behind Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific’s new plan for junior flight crew to serve at airport

Pilot Desmond Chan* turned up at work last week with a mixture of nerves and confusion in his new role as a ground staff member for Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways.

Chan recalled how he got lost in Hong Kong’s sprawling airport when leading a group of passengers from a late arrival flight to a connecting one, as he was not familiar with the building layout.

“It is like surviving in the wild. A totally new experience,” he said.

Chan is among the first batch of some 20 Cathay Pacific junior pilots working at the airport under a new induction programme launched this month for cadet graduates – who are qualified to fly as second officers.

In a memo last month seen by the Post, Cathay’s head of flight training Jules Tidmarsh told staff that pilots would be assigned to “customer-facing touchpoints at the airport”, including helping arriving passengers and those going through boarding procedures at departures.

Tidmarsh said in the memo pilots would undergo three days of classroom training on basic airport knowledge, followed by two days of working at boarding gates and in the arrival hall.

The selected pilots will complete one rotation of two months, before returning to their regular roster. They will be paid their basic monthly salary of around HK$32,000 (US$4,092), but not extra ground-duty allowance.

Cathay said in a statement last month the initiative was “an excellent addition to the cadet pilot graduates’ broader professional development”.

It added it was part of efforts to improve induction, and “considering the timeline to commencement of their flying training, we are seeking to broaden the induction experience of our cadet pilot graduates”.

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Like other junior pilots, Chan has been waiting for his turn to get trained for the cockpit, amid a teaching backlog and prioritising courses for more experienced fliers.

While analysts say junior pilots are typically hired as “relief” hands and not expected to do the real flying, the ground programme is seen as an opportunity to tap into this manpower pool with an understaffed airport. Junior pilots however have said they require more training and sending them into ground service has hit morale again.

During three days of classroom training, Chan said he was told he would need to perform simple duties, such as scanning boarding passes, but he wanted wider airport knowledge, especially on procedures.

Chan said his duties included scanning boarding passes, tracking down late or lost passengers and dealing with angry customers who showed up too late for their flight.

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“I haven’t received training on how to calm down angry passengers. I am really working on my own,” said Chan, who added his trainer told him newcomers typically received two weeks of training compared with his five days.

While Chan said he had gained insight into why flights could be delayed, it was not related to his work as a pilot, and he was eager to return to the skies. He estimated it would be his turn to receive flight training in the second half of next year.

The head of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, which represents Cathay pilots, said while the scheme utilised pilots who were not flying, it had no doubt affected morale.

“I don’t think they would do this unless one of the reasons is they are short of ground staff. They are trying to kill two birds with one stone. These guys haven’t got training for a while. They are hanging around and being paid,” chairman Paul Weatherilt said.

He estimated between a quarter to half of all second officers with the carrier were not flying and were waiting to be reactivated, or trained.

In addition, senior pilots were very busy due to a shortage of those at that rank, he noted.

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The Cathay group is estimated to be operating at about 50 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 passenger flight capacity, with the company aiming to reach 70 per cent by year-end and 100 per cent by the close of 2024.

The association said the airline had 3,840 pilots of all ranks across Cathay and its defunct subsidiary Cathay Dragon in the fourth quarter of 2019 before the pandemic brought the figure down to 2,417 as of June.

It said the number of captains had almost halved from 1,410 to 717, while the first officer headcount dropped 39 per cent from 1,740 to 1,030. The number of second officers fell 3 per cent from 690 to 670.

Cathay earlier said its attrition rate had “normalised across all staff groups, including pilots”, and it had hired back 250 Cathay pilots, including captains and first officers.

The carrier added it was on track to recruit 3,000 people this year, including 700 pilots.

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Andrew Yuen chi-lok of Chinese University’s Aviation Policy and Research Centre said the purpose of the new initiative to enhance trainees’ understanding of airport operation and customers was common in management trainee programmes at large corporations.

However, execution was key, with staff morale “particularly important to Cathay under the current situation,” Yuen warned. He said it was important to get trainees’ “buy-in” to understand the value of the arrangement.

“Sufficient training and support should be provided,” Yuen said. “On the other hand, ground services should not be affected by the arrangement, [and] no additional burden [should] be added to existing staff who are already overloaded.”

Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation advisory firm Endau Analytics, noted that during the induction period second officers could perform non-flying tasks.

“Cathay is struggling to cope on many fronts. Training is just one of many issues it is grappling with. There’s an acute challenge to raise capacity due to having fewer pilots and jets won’t be fully restored until a year from now.”

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Cabin crew and pilot salaries were reduced during the pandemic as part of cost-cutting moves, with Cathay recently introducing measures aimed at boosting morale.

That included adjusting its pay mechanism for pilots based on the number of hours they fly or their rostered flight time – whichever is higher from October.

Junior pilots at Cathay were offered the chance to apply to fly at the airline’s low-cost arm, HK Express, as first officers for two years, with successful candidates then able to join the main carrier with that rank.

However, they must have at least 1,000 hours of flight experience, therefore counting out some junior pilots.

*Name changed at interviewee’s request