| CATHAY PACIFIC PILOT INTERVIEW GOUGE
INITIAL INTERVIEW – July 2006
I had about one month’s notice to the initial interview. It was to be held in
Vancouver and was made up of a 30 minute written technical quiz and about a one
hour interview consisting of oral HR questions and oral technical questions.
The trip to Vancouver is on your own dime. They send you recommendations for a
hotel and directions to the interview site and little else.
I found that the 4 books which were most helpful were:
1. Gary Bristow’s Acing the Technical Pilot Interview
2. Captain X,Y, and Z’s A Pilot’s Guide: Preparing for the Cathay Pacific
Interview
3. FAA’s Aviation Weather, and
4. D.P. Davies’ Handling the Big Jets
Bristow’s and the FAA’s books were available through any common bookseller site
such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Captain X, Y, and Z’s book is a bit more
obscure but can be found if through various sources if you punch it in Google.
Same with D.P. Davies (although it is old, used, and rare, and thus
expensive). Another good one is Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators (found on
common bookseller sites); this is excellent but very technical, and can be
skipped unless you are an Aero major. Those books along with a very thorough
review of Cathay’s website will prepare you well for the interview (both initial and final).
I arrived in Vancouver the night before. My interview was in the afternoon the
next day. It was held in a non-descript office building near downtown
Vancouver. They ask you to bring certain basic materials (logbook, ATP
license, proof of education, etc) so make sure you bring all of these. And
definitely wear a suit, not a sport jacket or such. I was greeted by the
friendly staff there and immediately ushered into a conference room where they
had the written technical quiz laid out on the table. After the quiz, I waited
a bit in the lobby and was greeted by a very friendly, but formal, HR man. He
ushered me into a nice conference room with a nice view of the city, and
introduced me to the pilot technical person, a Captain at Cathay. The HR man
asked basic type personnel questions for about 30 minutes or so followed by the
Captain who asked me technical questions for another 30 minutes or so. They
were very friendly and tried to keep it relaxed, but nevertheless it was formal
and their eyes were always on me. After that, the interview was over and they
informed me that I could call the main office in Hong Kong the following Friday to find out if I had been invited for a final interview in Hong Kong.
The following is as much as I could remember of the questions I had on the quiz and in the interview portion:
Technical Quiz
- Indications of a warm front approaching
- If overcast cirrostratus, what type of icing would you expect?
- IAS vs. TAS in a climb – get bigger, lesser, or same?
- What do vortex generators do at low airspeeds? How do they help?
- How does CG affect stalling speed?
- Series vs. parallel yaw dampers
- Can clearway be used for takeoff or stop portion of t/o calculations?
- Timing on outbound leg in holding above 14,000 feet
- Initially on wet runway, what is most effective means of slowing down?
- As weight decreases, IMN for long-range cruise increases, decreases, stays
the same?
- HF waves bounce off what?
- From stall to high speed, what is effect on total drag?
- What type of drag involves “streamlining”?
- What happens to Mach number if you climb at a constant IAS?
- What is aspect ratio?
- What is a katabatic wind caused by?
- What can you do to reduce adverse yaw?
- Why are spoilers used? - What helps control boundary layer flow?
HR portion of interview
- Tell us about your career
- Why did you become a pilot?
- How did you do in high school/university?
- Did you fly before university?
- Why are you getting out of military?
- Could you have stayed in? Why or why not?
- How did you feel about not being promoted further?
- Why do you want to fly for Cathay? (3 reasons)
- What are 3 things you think make a good IP?
- Where does Cathay fly to in North America?
- What recent cargo aircraft acquisitions has Cathay made?
- Have you applied to other airlines?
- Why or why not certain airlines?
- Would you get bored flying with Cathay/airlines?
- How do wife/children feel about moving to Hong Kong?
- How did they feel previously about living overseas?
- What would you do if Cathay rejected you?
- Did Cathay make a profit last year? How much?
- How did you do in pilot training?
- Were you disappointed in the the assignments you got?
- Who do you know at Cathay?
- How did you prepare for this interview? - Any questions for us?
Technical portion of interview
- Why use winglets”
- EGPWS vs. GPWS
- Why set EPR early on t/o roll?
- Balanced field length
- Can clearway be used in t/o calculations?
- Why 777 does not have winglets?
- What is your aircraft’s wind shear recovery?
- How would you brief your crew on upcoming wind shear?
- Where do hurricanes/typhoons form – can they form over land?
- ITCZ explanation (Intertropical Convergence Zone)
- What causes wingtip vortices?
- What do vortex generators do?
- If wet runway, where do you set flaps?
- What is Mach crit?
- Relationship between V1 and Vmcg?
- Why would you use a reduced thrust takeoff? - How would you design a high-speed wing?
Final Interview – September 2006
After the first interview, they told me I could call on a certain day about 10
days later to find out if I had been selected for the final interview in Hong
Kong. I called Hong Kong on the appointed day and they told me
congratulations; that I had been selected for the final interview which would
be in 2 months hence in Hong Kong and that I would receive a packet in the mail
in a few weeks detailing what I needed to do and bring. So I did receive a
packet with a lot of forms to fill out detailing specifically what I needed to
bring. There were medical forms to fill out, various waiver forms, and forms
for the Hong Kong CAD (their version of the FAA) for conversion to a Hong Kong
ATP (which is required for the job). By far the most time consuming was the
logbook extracts for the Hong Kong CAD for various requirements for their ATP.
Since prior to this, I only had a sheaf of military flight log printouts
detailing my flight time. I had been advised by my interviewers in Vancouver
that I would need to convert all of these flight logs to a civilian flight
logbook, which I did. Since mine covered about 20 years, this took me about 60
hours to complete! Then, I had to make a whole lot of copies for various
required extracts. I ended up going through 2 print cartridges getting it all
done. In addition I needed to make multiple copies of various items such as
passports, ATP license, medical certificate, etc.
A couple of tricky items for me were the flight log extracts and the
Instrument/ATP check I had received. First, the flight log extracts: many of
the CAD’s requirements were very detailed, such as proving that I had so many
hours cross-country, as PIC or that I had done a flight over so many miles with
so many intermediate stops. My military flight records were not so detailed,
so I got my former military supervisor to sign endorsement statements in my new
civilianized logbook. I also might need an official letter from my former
squadron, on official letterhead, stating that all the CAD’s requirements were
met (at the time of this writing, I have been selected for a job, but my
paperwork has not yet been submitted to the CAD yet). This is important as all
of the “round pegs in square holes’ stuff regarding my flight records were a
source of anxiety for me; thinking I might be rejected at the interview if my
logbook extracts were not sufficient. However, I learned at the final
interview that the flight log paperwork does not even get submitted to the CAD
until after the job offer is made. Had I known that prior that would have
lessened some anxiety I had about it. The second tricky thing for me was proof
of my Instrument rating. Since our (U.S.) ATP doesn’t state on our license
anything about an Instrument rating, I went to my local FAA regional office and
had them type up a short letter stating that a U.S. ATP automatically implies
an Instrument rating as well. Also, I had the FAA Flight Examiner who did my
ATP check a year prior write a letter detailing the check ride and what it
implies. The bottom line is that you should follow their instructions as best
as possible but realize that they don’t even submit it to the CAD until after
the job offer is made and finally, the Cathay staff did not at all seem worried
that there would be a problem. At worst, it sounded like I may, at the
appropriate time, need to send over a few copies of something but that would be
it.
Also in the packet was a round trip ticket, for me only, to Hong Kong for the
interview. Spouses are welcomed to stay at the hotel and are welcomed to the
cocktail party, but they don’t pay for the trip (apparently they used to be
paid for). In any case, I paid for my wife’s ticket and for various reasons, I’
m glad she came. As a side note, I can’t help but think it showed interest,
alleviated concerns over family questions about living in HK, and she was also
great to have at the cocktail party. That being said, there was certainly no
need or pressure to bring your wife. In fact mine was only one of two (out of
nine guys) that brought their wife/girlfriend.
They don’t give you the itinerary of the interview until you actually arrive
at the hotel in Hong Kong. They only tell you it will be 2 days, that there
will be a medical, a simulator, and an interview. My itinerary actually went
like this (others had slight variations):
First day:
0845-0900 Welcome Briefing
0900-0945 Manager Basing Companies Briefing
1100-1200 Medical check
1345-1500 Math test and Psychological test
1700-1800 Freighter Briefing
Second day:
0900-1000 Group Exercise
1000-1100 Simulator Briefing
1200-1300 Simulator Assessment
1315-1415 Final Interview
1500-1530 English Language Test 1730-1900 Cocktail Party
In reality, it all went pretty much right on schedule too.
I studied pretty hard for the interview. The previous gouge I had gotten was
pretty much on target. So I studied, I think, pretty appropriately. I studied
a lot for the technical part of the interview (which of course was only oral,
unlike the first interview where you have the actual written quiz). As with
the initial interview, the material I found most useful were: the gouge I found
on the “I fly for food” website, in addition to gouge I had gotten from others
(which I was asked not to share, but it’s not much different than what mine
is); the book “Preparing for your Cathay Pacific Interview: The Pilot’s Guide (11th Edition) (this was very useful and fairly on target, even though a bit dated, hard to find: but their email is /agent/MobNewMsg?to=info@pilotcareersinternational.com); a
book called “Handling the Big Jets” by D.P. Davies; “Ace the Technical Pilot
Interview” by Gary Bristow (easily the most valuable book for me); Aviation
Weather (an FAA handbook); and the Cathay Pacific website, as well as Wikipedia.
com. Don’t waste your time learning AIM/FAR too much; they’re not too
interested in U.S. regulations per se. Overall, they are really into Aero
knowledge.
For the HR part of the interview, I relied mostly on the “Preparing for your
Cathay…” book, which was excellent in this regard. Also, on gouge I had
gotten.
As far as the Math test, I studied a couple of general math and algebra books
I got at the bookstore (there are many to choose from) but frankly, I don’t
think my 10-15 hours of study helped very much. I really don’t think it’s
worth putting too much effort studying for this, unless you think you are
extremely weak at elementary math reasoning. If I had to do it over, I would
not have studied for this test.
As for the Psychological test, you can’t study for this one, nor should you.
Same goes for the Group Exercise. Same for the English Language Test (unless
of course English is a second language for you).
The final item is the Simulator Assessment. At the end of my first interview
the interviewers advised me that this was a very important part of the final
interview. In other gouge I saw, it was also emphasized how important it was
(one said 75% of the grade, although I have no idea if that is accurate or
not – I doubt it is that much or even quantified like that, but no doubt it is
a show-stopper if you don’t do well). And at the final interview, they also
emphasized that it was important. I had been out of flying for a few months,
and I had never flown an airliner before, so I invested in two different 2 hour
sessions in the 747-200 simulator (at the first interview they advised me that
the assessment would be scheduled for that type, although they reserve the
right to test in another if for some reason they want or need to). So I signed
up for my first 2 hour session through Flight Training International located in
Denver. It cost $1100 for the 2 hours with a 747 instructor. The instruction
was okay; but what was really important was simply being able to operate this
type of airplane myself, because the profile is quite basic (more about that
below). I went in mid-August. Then in late September, about a week before
going to Hong Kong, I flew out to Miami for another 2-hour session with Aero
Services. This cost $750 for 2 hours. Again, the instruction was okay, but
again that wasn’t important; just having the time in the sim was very
important, hands-on. So altogether, with airfare and hotels and rental car,
etc, I spent about $3000 on 4 total hours of simulator prep. And for me (a.
not having flown something like a 747 before, and b. I had been out of flying
for several months) the money spent was well worth it as it turned out. I
think probably if you’ve either not been out of flying and have recent
experience with a round dial crosscheck or you have flown a similar big-type
airplane like a 747, maybe you only need to do one 2 hour session (both
companies I went to require you pay for a minimum of 2 hours). But I would
definitely recommend you go at least once. Going twice gave me some peace of
mind, and my performance at the actual assessment proved, at least to me, that
it was worth it. The last thing I’d say on this is that each of the sims
(including Cathay’s) were all a little different from each other, such as in
power settings and pitch; not too significant, but it’s a caution I guess from
expecting certain power settings or pitch settings to be consistent from sim to
sim. Cathay’s sim was far superior than the two practice sims I did (cleaner,
smoother) so I would say if you can do fairly well in the practice than you will find the Cathay one easier to fly; I did.
The trip over to Hong Kong
My wife and I flew over arriving 48 hours prior to the interview. I’m glad I
did as the time zone change took some adjusting to. That extra night helped me
feel a lot more rested at the interview. We stayed on our own dime the first
night down in Kowloon then the next day checked into the Cathay (Headland
Hotel) accommodations next to their campus near the airport. We flew out of
San Francisco non-stop to Hong Kong. Flying on Cathay further confirmed to me
I was making a pretty good choice; the service was outstanding. Hong Kong
itself was impressive – very much like any large North American or European
city; dynamic and exciting (to us at least). The only drawback to us was the
smog; it’s pretty bad, at least in the main part of the city. But overall, we
loved it and could easily see us living in the area in a few years. The hotel
at Cathay City was quite nice. Cathay pays for your round trip ticket along
with hotel accommodations for 3 nights and even give you a per diem of a few hundred dollars or so.
First interview day
The hotel is sort of connected to the Cathay campus and comes complete with
their own nice restaurant and bar and workout facility, so we took advantage of
those facilities both the night before and in the morning of the first
interview day. We started with a Welcome brief followed by a Basing Company
manager’s briefing. These were conducted in a conference room in the Flight
Crew Recruitment offices. There were 9 of us, but it was clear that they were
conducting overlapping interviews all week with many others there as well. But
my group had 9: 4 Americans (including me), 2 of which were Air Force; a
Belge, 2 Germans, a Korean, and a Canadian. Ages ranged from about 28 to about
46 or so. Most everyone was an airliner type guy with loads of hours (probably everyone had at least 3000 total).
The Medical
The medical required me to give a urine and blood sample. Then the nurse gave
me a series of standard checkups (hearing, eyesight, blood pressure, EKG,
etc.) Pretty much like a standard FAA medical, plus a chest X-ray) Kind of
low tech on the tests but really no different than standard in the U.S. Then
the doctor checks you out and asks questions about your family history and
lifestyle. Very nice people and didn’t act like they were trying to “get” you on anything. It lasted about an hour.
The Math test
The math test was on a computer terminal and we were given 30 minutes to
complete a 33 question test. There were 11 sets of questions with 3 questions
concerning each of the 11. They weren’t anything you could really study for,
pretty much word reasoning questions that dealt with percentages and fractions
and graphs. For example, it would give a graph on exchange rates and you were
asked to compare one currency to another based on a third currency. Another
example basically had you average out a group of people’s ages and figure out
how many were under 21 for instance. Each of the 3 questions on each set got
progressively harder to figure out, so I quickly discovered that if I answered
at least the first two and moved on I was better off. The third question of
each set was really difficult. In any case, I wouldn’t worry about or study
for this. They were pretty basic for any college educated person. I think the
important thing was to finish quickly as it was nearly impossible to finish the
test. Everyone I talked to only answered about 20 or so. I guess if you have
the time, you could study word reasoning math tests but if I had to do it over
again, I would not have spent any time studying for this, and I’m hardly a math expert.
The Psych test
This was also on the computer and it was about 180 questions to finish in 30
minutes. So you really had to answer quickly to finish – they warned you that
you would fail it if you didn’t finish. It was all multiple choice – 2
choices – on each question that had no right or wrong answer. Things like: do
you like poetry or guns better? Would you rather be a carpenter or an
accountant? Would you describe yourself boisterous or reserved? Etc. etc. The
important thing is not to think too hard, just answer and complete it. Pace
yourself accordingly in order to finish it. You really have to move fast to finish.
Freighter Briefing
Like the Basing Company briefing just a lot of general information that anyone
looking into the company would probably already know prior to applying, such as
where you would be based, pay scale, etc. The opportunity to ask questions is there too.
Group exercise
All of us were placed in a conference room with a dry erase board and handed
out information sheets. Each of the sheets was slightly different from any of
the others. We were told we need to select the ideal person from a list of
candidates for a mission to destroy an asteroid that was coming towards Earth.
Each of the candidates had certain qualifications that were to be measured
against the ideal qualifications for such a person to lead the mission. The
tricky thing was that each of our sheets contained different and sometimes
contradictory information. The idea was to work together and find the best
solution. The way that worked for us was for someone to get on the dry erase
board and write out a matrix while taking inputs from everybody one at a time.
This worked very well. There were 2 observers watching and jotting down notes
on everybody’s participation. Obviously they were looking for everyone to help
in solving the problem and in a constructive way. The solution was a bit
convoluted but the exercise was straight-forward and easy if you simply focus
on what they are looking for rather than worrying about the ideal solution.
The important thing was to either take charge in a constructive way or to
follow the lead of someone who takes charge and participate constructively, while obviously staying calm and professional.
Simulator Briefing
Then all of us as a group went to the simulator area where we were given a
detailed briefing (for an hour and a half) from the retired Captain who was to
administer the simulator. He was humorous and put us at ease, although he made
it clear it was an important part of the interview. He went over step-by-step
the entire profile including power settings and call outs you needed to make.
Obviously, since this was conducted just prior to the sim eval, it was a review
of what we already should have had memorized. In the packet they send you a
month or so prior to the interview, they will give you a pretty good detail of the evaluation. I memorized this and used it at the two practice sims I did.
Simulator Assessment
At the appointed time, I showed up for the sim and they gave me the choice of
sitting in the left or the right seat. I chose the left simply because that
was what I had arbitrarily picked before my practice sims just to remain
consistent. But they obviously don’t care which seat you pick. One of the
retired Captains sits in the opposite seat to set the flaps and power settings
and basically act as your copilot while the other retired Captain works the
simulator panel behind us. The sim is set up on the runway, ready for takeoff
on 25L just like their packet they send you. All he asks is what calls you
would like him to call out (V1, rotate, etc.) There doesn’t appear to be a
right or wrong answer, just that you are thinking about it. You don’t need to
perform a takeoff briefing, per se. On the takeoff, the important thing is to
rotate smoothly up to about 15 degrees and ask for the gear and flaps up
according to their scheduled retraction. They also like you to call for the
checklist (After takeoff/climb check, before landing check). They just want to
hear you call for a standard checklist – they don’t expect you to know the
exact name of the checklist as they will run it anyway. After following the
retraction schedule, I leveled off at 2500 feet and then they put you on
position freeze and ask you to perform a 30 degree turn to roll out on a
heading, then the same thing with 45 degree bank, and then 60 degree bank. I
got the stick shaker on the 60 degree bank turn and simply recovered until it
went away – that’s all they appeared to want there. I got about 200 feet off
max a couple of times. But most of the time I was pretty much on altitude and
airspeed (280 KIAS). Then they turn you to a downwind where you setup for an
ILS approach. They give you headings to base and dogleg then to intercept the
localizer inbound (to runway 07R). Prior to this they ask you what calls to
request from them (e.g. “one dot above,” “500 t0 go,” etc.) Again, there isn’t
a right or wrong set of things to ask for; they’re just looking for some CRM.
I intercepted the localizer and pretty much stayed within one dot on both the
localizer and the glideslope all they way down, and also about 0 to +10 knots
fast, which they seemed happy with. For me at least, the 747 was quite
sensitive, particularly in roll. The smallest inputs are necessary, as there
is a lot of inertia to overcome. I think limiting your bank angles to 10
degrees or less on final is more than enough. It’s important to be patient and
work back any offsets slowly. You absolutely cannot muscle it back onto
course. So obviously, it becomes very important to try and intercept and start
down the glideslope at the right time, otherwise you will be playing catch-up
the whole time. At about 200 feet (decision height) the runway was still not
in sight, so I initiated the missed approach as planned and expected anyway.
Again, it was important to call out the gear and flap retraction schedule
exactly as published. As with the initial takeoff, I leveled off at 2500 feet
and we went to downwind. On downwind, he gave me a #4 fire light. All they’re
expecting from you here is to keep flying the airplane and calmly call for the
checklist for the fire and confirm the right switches/throttle when he runs
those parts of the checklist. Once you are on 3 engines, there is significant
yaw, which can be taken out with foot power or rudder trim. This is your
option. I chose to just use my foot (pretty much center the ball and leave it
there). I tried the rudder trim option (about 2-3 units worked) during one of
my practice sims but I found I had to work out some oscillations when I took it
out (as required) about 500 feet above decision height. So, just keeping the
foot in worked well for me as I could just keep it in all the way through
landing and didn’t have to worry about taking the rudder trim out. It’s only
about 5 minutes anyway, so this worked well for me. The approach was the same,
another ILS, but of course just 3 engine. On the 4 engine approach it was app.
1.15 EPR on final, while with the 3 engines, it was a little higher (app. 1.25)
obviously. Once I initially set the power, I didn’t crosscheck the EPRs very
much; rather I just winged it with small adjustments to keep the speed; this
worked well for me. The most important thing that took the most concentration
was the glideslope and pitch. The pitch was critical. If all else fails, if
you set the proper pitch, you will do fine. The airplane will immediately
descend if your pitch is too low, not quite as much if your pitch is too high,
so err on the high side if anything. The following pitch settings worked
pretty well:
Clean, 250: app. 5 degrees
Clean, 280: app. 2 degrees
Configured, level: app. 6-8 degrees
Configured, glideslope: app. 1-2 degrees
On this 3 engine approach, I broke out about 500 feet and landed it although I
wasn’t quite lined up on centerline at decision height (200 feet); I was lined
up more like with the edge of the runway. For this reason, I told him (as he
had briefed prior) that I would go around; however, (again as he had briefed us
to do) to make the best of it and continue to land. So I did, and it wasn’t
real pretty but I landed in on centerline about 5000 feet down. He makes some
call outs (60 feet, 30 feet etc.) to help with the landing, but I didn’t
perceive this as something too critical to get down perfect, unlike the
approach. Anyway, you bring it to a stop and that’s it. The whole thing took
about 30 minutes. We shook hands and that was it. During the interview
afterwards, one of the first questions I was asked was how I did on the sim,
but they didn’t dwell on it. The whole time, the retired Captains were very
friendly and professional. After the sim, which they had emphasized to be the
most important part of the interview, I felt really good about my prospects. I
suddenly felt really happy that I had spent all that cash on doing the 2
practice sims in August and September. That practice really paid off. After that, I headed to the interview. HR/Technical Interview:
I was then welcomed into a conference room and introduced to an HR man and a
Captain. Both were very polite and welcoming and tried to make me feel comfortable. The HR man got right to his questions:
- (looking at notes from my first interview) he asked about the circumstances
of why I did not get further promoted in the military.
- Asked how I got interested in flying
- Asked why I wanted to fly for Cathay
- Said he saw (again from noted from my first interview) that I had applied to
other airlines; gave me opportunity to explain why Cathay was my desired
choice
- Asked what my greatest weakness were
- Asked how family would like Hong Kong
- Asked, given my past career (military) would I be bored with Cathay job
- Give some examples of times (flying) that really challenged you
- Asked how I like Hong Kong so far
- Asked where my preference of basing would be
- Asked if I had any questions
- Lastly, asked what kind of lasting impression would you like to leave with us at this interview.
The HR man (I believe either a Canadian or American in his mid-fifties) was
formal and nice. His portion took about 20 minutes. Then the Captain (an
Australian in his mid-forties) who is one of the 777 Chief Pilots, began asking
technical questions:
- Asked me to rate my performance in the simulator (that I had just completed)
- Asked me what kind of planes the models on the table were (there were 2
models sitting on the table when I came in (a 747-400 and an Airbus 330) and
how I could tell
- Asked what Mach Crit is
- Asked where it occurs first on the 747
- Asked about winglets
- Asked about typhoons and how they are formed
- Asked what Predictive Wind Shear is
- Asked what are Supercritical wings
- Asked what are advantages of aft CG
- Asked why 777 doesn’t have winglets
- Asked how you would handle wind shear
- Asked service ceiling/top speed of my latest aircraft
- Gave a scenario whereby you are at 35,000 feet and the oxygen masks drop down
for the passengers but there is oxygen in them, and cabin pressurization is
fine; you are over Pacific, about 5 hours from arriving at Hong Kong. What
would you do, if anything?
- Asked how vortex generators work and what they are for
- Asked to define relationship between Vmcg and V1
- Asked to explain Vmca
- Asked what types of drag are there
- Asked what causes induced drag
- Asked which engine in a 747 would be critical in a crosswind
- The HR man then asked what kind of engines the Cathay 747s had
- Tell us about the RB-211 - Asked if I had any questions
That was it. The Captain’s technical assessment also went about 20 minutes, so
the total interview was about 40 minutes. They thanked me, wished me luck, and
escorted me out, all in a friendly, professional manner. They mentioned they’d see me later at the cocktail party.
English Language Test
This test is obviously no problem if you are an English speaking native. If
you are not, it could be quite difficult. I was surprised at how extensive
this was. It lasted about 45 minutes and consisted of pretty sophisticated
questions based on what you see in pictures and cards and what you hear on
recordings. Again, not threatening or hard if you are a native English
speaker. This test will soon be an ICAO requirement so they are rolling it out now. Nothing to worry about (if native English speaker).
Cocktail/Drinks Party
This was the last event for our group (there was another group at the cocktail
party that, for them, was at the end of their first day) in the early evening
of the second day. Typical layout for a reception up on the top floor of the
hotel. Very nice, in a small setting with a nice view below of the airport
with drinks and snacks brought to you on trays. At this point, I think
everyone was just happy that the interview was over, so everyone was relaxed.
I had thought that this was sort of a graded part of the interview, but I
really don’t think it is. I think if you just engage in friendly conversation
and don’t say anything offensive, you will “pass” this part. Several of their
top flight management people are in attendance and they are far outnumbered by
applicants (about 20 of us, since there were two groups, and about 4-5 of
them). It really was just friendly, relaxed small talk and lasts about an hour
and a half before most start to file out. I stayed about an hour longer simply
because my wife and I were enjoying it so much (and at that point I was feeling
pretty confident about the whole thing). Anyway, that was it. We headed into
town for a night out since we were leaving the next afternoon (great nightlife
down there in SoHO!). I called on the appointed day they said to call (about a
week later) and received the good news. A few days later, I got a letter from
them congratulating me and saying that they will contact me when a training
date comes up for me. In the meantime, they just wanted to make sure you kept
them abreast of any updates (medical, addresses, etc.). They also got my order
of preference for my base in the U.S. I expect about a 6 month wait for a
training date.
Overall, the entire interview experience was a very pleasant one with Cathay.
They exceeded my expectations in their courtesies and respect for people. They
were always professional and friendly. An elegant company. I’m really looking forward to working with them. Good luck to you!
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