Cathay Pacific to slash housing packages for pilots as part of ongoing cost-cutting drive
The proposals affect 43 per cent of Cathay Pacific’s 2,500 Hong Kong-based cockpit crew
Hong Kong-based pilots were told on Friday evening of changes to their accommodation perks, each worth up to HK$1.2 million annually, according to an internal memo seen by the Post.
The airline said it was giving three months’ notice to pilots who benefit from the Accommodation and Rental Assistance Policy Agreement, which cost more than HK$900 million last year for the more than 1,000 eligible cockpit crew. The airline said “significant savings” could be made.
“This is simply not feasible in the current economic environment,” the airline’s flight operations director Anna Thompson said in a memo to pilots on Friday night. The company said it had “no choice” as it was “faced with tough decisions”.
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The proposals affect 43 per cent of Cathay Pacific’s 2,500 locally-based pilots. The rest of the aircrew receive housing allowances up to HK$500,000 a year.