Cathay Pacific Airways has an aggressive recruiting goal to hire 4,000 new staff by the end of 2024 to fulfil the growing demand for air travel worldwide. Pilots and flight attendants are among the new positions employed to meet its projected labour need.

With its hub at Hong Kong International Airport, the airline announced plans to employ hundreds of cabin crew members by the end of 2023. It will also hire  700 additional pilots, of which 400 will be recent cadet graduates filling First Officer positions.

The Cathay Pacific cadet programme has trained over a thousand Hong Kong residents since it began. According to Cathay Pacific, “we look forwards to welcoming applicants who will be commencing the new cadet courses and becoming part of the Cathay Pacific family following graduation.”

The company aims to have more than a thousand cadet pilots under its wings by 2025.

Recently, Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) entered into a three-year agreement to work together on an integrated course for the airline’s Cadet Pilot Training Program. The total time commitment for this streamlined programme is between 55 and 60 weeks, and it covers groundwork in both theory and simulation before moving on to actual flying practice.

The programme, which will provide cadets with “world-class education and training for future pilots,” is designed to make Cathay Pacific the “leading centre” for aviation training, as revealed by the company’s CEO, Augustus Tang.

Around June 2022, Cathay Pacific said it was having trouble dealing with a spike of pilot resignations following the pandemic. The airline contemplated reducing compensation for flight attendants to get through the pandemic but ultimately decided to boost their allowances and perks instead.