Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific hits back at union for claiming company cannot plug pilot shortfall, says 250 cockpit ex-staff to return

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has hit back at a union’s claims that its pilot hiring spree will not solve manpower shortages, revealing that about 250 captains and first officers who left previously would rejoin the carrier.

In a statement on Friday, the Cathay group said it welcomed back such staff who had applied to return, promising to offer competitive remuneration to all employees.

The Post learned that some of the returning captains and first officers had previously worked with now-defunct subsidiary Cathay Dragon.

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The comments by Cathay Pacific were aimed at the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, which earlier in the day said the airline needed 700 captains to recover its pre-pandemic passenger capacity.

The union also said the company’s plan to hire 800 cadet pilots over the next two years would not resolve what it called the “immediate task” of rebuilding Hong Kong as an aviation hub.

“There are many Hong Kong pilots available but Cathay isn’t prepared to pay the market rate for experience,” union chairman Paul Weatherilt claimed.

The company in its response said: “We have sufficient pilots, cabin crew and operational employees to support our current flight schedule. We are confident that our ongoing training, promotion and recruitment plans will ensure this remains the case as we rebuild.”

On Tuesday, the carrier announced it would be recruiting 800 cadet pilots into its training programmes this year and in 2024 from Hong Kong and mainland China.

Weatherilt pointed out that of the 1,000 cadets trained through Cathay’s programme in the past 35 years, 135 had been promoted to captains. It typically takes between 12 and 15 years for a cadet to become a qualified captain, according to the union.

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“Hong Kong lacks experienced pilots in the cockpit to train a new generation of pilots and to recover as an aviation hub that can compete with places like Singapore, Guangzhou and Shenzhen,” he said.

Cathay has said earlier that its contract, which slashed pilots’ salaries by about 40 per cent, on top of cuts in housing and retirements allowances, brought remuneration packages in line with those of overseas competitors such as Singapore Airlines.

The carrier has also indicated it was on track to hire 3,000 people this year, including 700 pilots.

Cathay stopped recognising the flight attendants and pilots union during the pandemic in October 2020, when new contracts were introduced as part of cost-cutting measures.

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Previously, the airline would negotiate with both groups on pay rises and changes to terms and conditions for frontline staff.

Instead the carrier has said it will communicate directly with staff via internal channels.

Cathay on Friday said it was operating at 50 per cent of pre-pandemic flight capacity at the end of March and aimed to reach 70 per cent by the end of the year, and 100 per cent by the end of 2024.

However, staff shortages remain a major hurdle for Cathay and Hong Kong International Airport.

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The airline is set to recruit between 200 and 300 flight attendants from the mainland next month, with the target set to increase in the future.

The government plans to import some 6,300 personnel for the aviation sector, part of a wider scheme to bring in 20,000 workers for short-staffed industries.

Cathay recently rolled out a series of measures to boost morale, such as adjusting pay for pilots and cabin crew.

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.

Last week the Cathay Group said it expected to make a profit in the first half of 2023, as the carrier had benefited from strong travel demand while ticket prices were higher than before the pandemic.