[AndrewinHK]

Interesting story in the Hong Kong press today relating to Cathay Pacific pilots, some of which are allegedly, deliberately taxiing aircraft at slower speeds than other carriers. In an internal email to its pilots recently, the local flagship airline said the Airport Authority informed it about the data indicating “some Cathay Pacific aircraft were taxiing at considerably slower speeds than other operators” and congested the airport.

Speculation that pilot discontent at 30% cuts in pay, and new contracts, could be a factor in slowing taxi times to try and increase sector lengths and boost pay by increasing hours. Cathay has threatened disciplinary action for future incidents.

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a_canadian_traveller, HKFlyer

[stevescoots]

My 2 taxis in the week were the usual, one very quick and the other i think we were going via Macau lol, but that was landing point and gate number not miss daisy driving. my CX friends joke that they must hate me as whenever i fly in my flights end up way up in the 60’s gates or so when those flights usually come in closer to the terminal. dont believe in a go slow it myself. whilst its not the company to work for lie it used to be and many of my friends have left or planning to, like BA the pilots do not mix professionality in daily ops with disagreements with the company.

[cwoodward]

This is not a new story.
It has been around on various boards for the past 2 months and there seems to be little real truth in it.
The speculation mentioned also seems wide of the mark and of course the ‘new contracts are now a year old.

Over the past months many pilots that left the airline or were ex Dragon have returned and the advertised positions for ex Cathay pilots to return have now been filed…but more pilots are needed both by Cathay and many other airlines.
The many pilots that have returned to Cathay were in fact attracted by the packages being offered that are significantly better than those of many other major lines.
The airline now has several hundred more pilots than a year ago but there are a few members of the now almost defunct local pilots union and a posy of retired malcontents with a chip on there shoulders that perpetuate this sort of misinformation and exaggeration.

[AndrewinHK]

One assumes the Airport Authority data doesn’t lie. Of course the reason for the slower taxi times could be due to other factors like safety or fuel saving, who knows.

It’s obviously something CX is concerned about, and the story has resurfaced as its reported an official email was sent to pilots in the last week (I am asking a CX pilot friend for confirmation on this and will revert).

I know from talking to CX staff, that often they would rush to get the flights to the gate (particularly early morning arrivals pre covid), as if they arrived before a certain time the staff were entitled to a taxi allowance to get home, as the Airport Express service hasn’t started yet.

[AndrewinHK]

My CX pilot friend just confirmed that yes an email was sent. I asked him ‘you think some pilots are doing this on purpose’ his response ‘absolutely, it’s been ridiculous’. Asked how much extra $$ you can actually make by doing this, apparently if you go over a certain number of hours you get $25hkd a minute in extra pay.

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a_canadian_traveller, EU_Flyer, DerekVH, Ekond222, TominScotland

[cwoodward]

This reply has been reported for inappropriate content.

A memo not an email AHK.

SOME ( a few) pilots are taxing slowly – mainly Australians who (Cathay has many) are a notoriously bullishly bunch and have been so for years (Qantas pilots are going on strike btw) but are good pilots – who keep returning to Cathay.
It is a silly minor dispute that has no negative effect on passengers reaching their destinations on time.

I would to some issue with your tabloid thread title that was clearly to deceive readers of a business travel forum that there was was a serious go slow that should be of concern to them….this was not the case.

I don’t report threads re content but yours rather deserved to be reported as it was alarmist and intended to deceive.

[AndrewinHK]

Cwoodward your policing of anything CX related is a bit hysterical, as are your accusations and rude manner. I was merely creating a discussion around a current news story, regarding Cathay aircraft going slowly, that has been widely reported in media and other travel websites.

4 users thanked author for this post.

a_canadian_traveller, midorosan2, EU_Flyer, Ekond222

[AMcWhirter]

The news is covered today by Airwaysmag.com

Cathay Pacific Pilots Warned Against Slow Taxiing

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a_canadian_traveller, Ekond222, AndrewinHK

[cwoodward]

Of course unless unless flights are delayed or arrive late this is a minor local issue that will pass as these things always do.

Most of us here would be aware that several years back airlines ‘padded” their scheduled flight times in order that the seldom arrived late if flights were delayed at origin for less than about an hour.

[MrDarwin]

I’m certainly interested in this topic as I am connecting in HKG on Cathay flights in a few weeks time. The return flight to AMS was recently retimed to allow for the extended flight times avoiding Russian airspace, reducing the layover by over an hour. If this continues then it might be more of a formula 1 pit stop than a leisurely layover in the great lounges.

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a_canadian_traveller, EU_Flyer

[cwoodward]

With this issue we are at worst looking at a few minutes (5 or 6) and this should cause you know problems as most flights are arriving into HK early at the moment. The issue is very likely to be over in a matter of days.

1 user thanked author for this post.

EU_Flyer

[cwoodward]

This reply has been reported for inappropriate content.

AHK I suggest that if you find my pushback difficult you stop the the tabloid posts – designed to mislead it appears.

[AndrewinHK]

Cwoodward, I don’t find your pushback difficult at all, quite the contrary. Many of your comments are biased, and defensive to the extreme, particularly towards anything CX or Hong Kong related. You have reduced yourself to making negative assertions about some pilot’s nationality with your comment about Australians, a most inappropriate comment for any forum.

3 users thanked author for this post.

a_canadian_traveller, TGRW, Ekond222

[TGRW]

From speaking to a pilot friend at CX, the taxi speed is one of a number of techniques being deployed by CX pilots that do not affect passenger safety, aircraft safety or can be classed as poor airmanship.

Techniques that will increase CX maintenance costs and fuel burn on each flight. As others have mentioned there does seem to be a significant number of unhappy pilots at CX.

3 users thanked author for this post.

a_canadian_traveller, Ekond222, AndrewinHK

[Woodpecker]

This go-slow stance I suspect may at maximum just be from a tiny minority of the pilots, particularly those whose remuneration might have been reduced a bit owing to a recalibration of the salary computation. Unfortunately, this Cathay memo may have ended up painting all pilots with the same brush.

This distraction should in no way dilute the professionalism & competency of the pilots, I would any day put my life in their hands than some LCCs where they cut corners.

4 users thanked author for this post.

EU_Flyer, AndrewinHK, Ekond222, cwoodward

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