Flight risk: first, Cathay Pacific’s rude cabin crew, now its pilots. Why are staff at Hong Kong’s flag carrier so unhappy?

Staff at Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific keep hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Over the past few days, the airline has been embroiled in a widening scandal as its crew were caught openly humiliating mainland Chinese passengers. Recently, its pilots were accused of deliberately slowing down while taxiing their planes. In the second of a two-part series, Laura Westbrook and Oscar Liu explore pilots’ grievances.

When Jeremy Jones*, a senior pilot from Australia joined Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways a decade ago, he rented an 800 sq ft flat in Mid-Levels. The monthly rent was HK$32,000 (US$4,086).