Cathay Pacific welcomes 100 mainland China cabin crew in diversity drive

Cathay Pacific Airways welcomed 100 cabin crew members from mainland China, marking the first intake from its recruitment initiative in the region. The new staff members are set to spearhead the airline’s goal to bring onboard 1,500 individuals from across the border by 2025.

Mandy Ng, Cathay’s director of service delivery, stated that hiring Mandarin-speaking flight attendants was a natural development aimed at enhancing staff diversity. She emphasised that the new hires would bolster Cathay’s diverse crew base, enabling them to better serve their international clientele.

With an increased volume of Mandarin-speaking passengers travelling not only to and from mainland China but across their entire network, the new crew members are expected to play a crucial role. This recruitment drive was initiated in August of the previous year, with 600 out of over 2,000 applicants shortlisted for the final interview round.

The new staff are required to be proficient in English and at least one Asian language. This comes after an incident where three Cathay cabin crew members were fired for ridiculing a mainland passenger’s request for a blanket in English. However, the airline refuted claims that the recruitment drive was a response to this incident.

Cathay Pacific underwent significant restructuring due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which included layoffs of over 5,300 employees in October 2020. The company has since launched a massive recruitment drive to replenish its personnel and plans to hire 5,000 workers in 2024, in addition to the 4,000 staff taken on board last year.

A pilot shortage led to the cancellation of more than 160 flights since last Christmas Eve. As a result, the airline has reduced its flights by an average of 12 a day, a trend set to continue until February.

New recruits

Ng stated that by 2025, Cathay aims to have a crew of 10,000 flight attendants, with 1,500 sourced from mainland China. She further revealed that the newly recruited mainland staff, who completed their training in Shenzhen, would be based in Hong Kong.

Recruits can look forward to earning between HK$17,000 (77,000 baht) to HK$20,000 (90,500 baht) per month, provided they meet the required flying hours. Despite stiff competition from other airlines, Ng remained confident about Cathay’s ability to attract more cabin staff from the mainland.

One of the new crew members, Harry Wu, shared his positive first experience with Cathay, citing the professionalism of the flight attendants as a key factor in his decision to join. Another recruit, Lareina Su, expressed her excitement at the opportunity to fly to various countries she had yet to visit, reported Bangkok Post.