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Cathay Pacific is believed to be training its pilots through its sister airline Dragonair, which it will rebrand this year as Cathay Dragon. Photo: AP

Cathay Pacific to use Dragonair to get around industrial dispute ban on training, union source reveals

The source says Cathay second officers will be sent to Dragonair for pilot training; they will then return to Cathay to fly new Airbus A350s

Cathay Pacific Airways is understood to be lining up sister airline Dragonair to get around an industrial dispute with its pilots.

As the company and the pilots’ union resumed negotiations on Saturday, the Sunday Morning Post understands Hong Kong’s biggest airline is preparing to send second officer pilots to Dragonair.

The plan involves training a sufficient number of pilots who will be eligible for promotion and who will then enter the cockpit of its newest aircraft, the Airbus A350. The first of 12 will be delivered this year. However, the airline faces an acute shortage of qualified pilots to man the new jets amid a union training ban.

The plan emerged after Cathay’s director of flight operations, Anna Thompson, issued a management ultimatum to all pilots calling for an end to the long-running dispute by the end of next month or face changes that could bring “long-term consequences”, without specifying what they would be and the likely consequences.

The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, representing 2,100 of Cathay’s 2,900 pilots, launched the work-to-rule action over a pay-rise dispute in December 2014. ­Although the issue was resolved, pilots continued their industrial action because of other disputes, such as roster patterns.

The association also initiated a “training ban”– asking pilots not to become training captains, meaning there has not been enough of them to train junior pilots.

A Dragonair union source said: “Cathay will use Dragonair to break the ban. Dragonair pilots don’t want to be “scabs” breaking a dispute for another pilot group in the same company. Cathay could see more disruption rather than a solution.

“The pullback on [Dragonair] expansion has left a training capacity excess that will be exploited for the breaking of the training ban. Cathay has planned around eight to 10 second officers to be trained each month for the next year or more,” the source added.

In one scenario mapped out by the union, it said it believed Cathay’s second officers would be sent to Dragonair to fly Airbus 330-type aircraft – and eventually fly enough hours to be promoted to junior first officer – and then operate the bigger airline’s fleet of next-generation A350 planes, which are compatible with the A330, to beat the ban and staff shortage.

While negotiations started yesterday, Cathay’s director of corporate affairs, James Tong, told the Post on Friday: “We are extremely delighted we are able to resume our discussion with the union because the issue has dragged on for quite a long time, so our focus is on ensuring we have a useful discussion.”

Asked about the role of Dragonair come the May 31 ultimatum, Tong said: “It is a fair assessment that we will go into the discussion with the best efforts to make it work – in terms of the negotiations.”

In a letter penned by Thompson and obtained by the Post, she said: “Our growth, especially during a time of rapid expansion – we’re set to receive the first 12 of 48 A350s this year – depends on having crew skilled at the right levels, and at this point we’re being forced to consider measures to sustain and protect our operation.”

She ended by warning: “Without an agreement by May 31, we will have no option but to make changes which may have long-term consequences.”

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