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Cathay Pacific to require cadet pilots to work with customers at Hong Kong’s airport, in move attacked by union
- Starting in June, cadets will undergo training on airport operations and man service counters
- Aircrew union calls move unnecessary, saying pilots are not generalists who need to be exposed to entire operation like management trainees
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Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways will require cadet pilots to work with customers at the airport as part of a new training initiative, which one of its unions warned was unnecessary and could discourage prospective hires from joining.
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In a notice recently sent to staff and seen by the Post, Cathay head of flying training Jules Tidmarsh said the new programme would begin in June for cadet pilot graduates to take up two months of rotational training at the Hong Kong International Airport, including frontline customer training in different positions.
“We will provide extensive information on the airport infrastructure, back-of-house operations and workflow patterns,” he wrote.
“We will provide you with training and then assign you to various customer-facing touchpoints at the airport. For example, you may assist our passengers at arrivals or with boarding procedures at departures.”
Tidmarsh said the pilots would undergo three days of classroom training on basic airport knowledge followed by two days of working at boarding gates and in the arrivals hall. Once the rotation was completed, the junior pilots would return to their regular roster, he said.
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