Cathay Pacific is threatening to take action against pilots if they don’t start taxiing faster…
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Are Cathay Pacific pilots intentionally taxiing slowly?
Cathay Pacific has sent an email to pilots, outlining concerns that some flights have been taxiing at lower speeds than other airlines, leading to congestion on taxiways. While the airline isn’t pursuing any action against pilots based on behavior in the past, the airline is stating that any future flights taxiing at slower speeds than average could lead to disciplinary action. Per the memo:
“Should cases be identified where individual aircraft are taxiing at speeds below the average of others in the same time frame, then we will follow up with the relevant commander and then take any further action that may be required.”
What motive would Cathay Pacific pilots have to taxi more slowly? Before the pandemic, pilots were paid based on expected flight time, while now they’re paid based on actual flight time, which would include time spent taxiing. This leads some people to believe that this is a scheme by pilots to get paid more.
Pilots claim that’s baseless, arguing that an extra several minutes of taxiing would result in a minimal difference in pay. Cathay Pacific states that pilots should ordinarily be taxiing at 15-20 knots, and sometimes up to 30 knots if feasible, but many Cathay Pacific pilots have been taxiing much more slowly than that.
Interestingly this concern wasn’t even initially raised by the airline, but rather by Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK). Per the memo:
“The Airport Authority advised us that their data indicated that some Cathay Pacific aircraft were taxiing at a considerably slower speed than other operators for both arrivals and departures. Our own Hong Kong airport team has confirmed that they have tracked similar instances in their own systems.”
The union representing Cathay Pacific pilots attributes this slower taxiing to poor pilot morale, saying that this pales in comparison to the overall issue Cathay Pacific is facing with pilots. The union states that the airline has a shortage of senior pilots, and that pilots are making 40% less than pre-pandemic, despite the airline having record prices and load factors:
“This is why pilots have left and continue to leave. Until the company is ready to work with pilot representatives to address these issues, little will change.”
What’s really going on here?
Data doesn’t lie, so we do know that Cathay Pacific pilots are on average taxiing more slowly than pilots of other airlines. What we don’t know is why.
Is this some coordinated effort among pilots, or just individual pilots not really being in a rush to get their plane to the gate? Between getting paid more for longer taxiing, and also not necessarily wanting to do the company any favors in terms of on-time arrivals and a reliable operation, I could see how that could happen.
Over the years we’ve certainly seen pilots at some airlines use their performance as a bargaining technique. For example, back in the day (this goes back 15 years), I remember when some United Airlines pilots were accused of “riding the brakes” while taxiing in order to increase fuel burn, to express their dissatisfaction with management. People have different takes as to how widespread that effort was.
Conversely, Southwest Airlines pilots have historically been known for taxiing really fast (though perhaps less so lately, as relations have soured). Is that because they’re aligned with the company’s goal of running an efficient, on-time operation? Or is it because Southwest has a different system for paying pilots, which isn’t purely based on flight time, but rather uses a “Trip For Pay” scheme that works a bit differently than at other airlines.
I do have to say, I feel horribly for Cathay Pacific pilots, much more so than pilots at most other airlines. They spent the first couple of years of the pandemic in constant quarantine, Cathay Pacific has closed its foreign pilot bases, and they’ve all received huge pay cuts. It’s really sad that pilots have been put in this situation.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific has warned pilots about taxiing too slowly. The airport has warned the airline that Cathay Pacific pilots are creating congestion at the airport by taxiing more slowly. It’s hard to imagine this is a coincidence, especially with Cathay Pacific’s new pay scheme for pilots, as well as the huge pay cuts pilots have gotten. When even the union is blaming low morale for this, it seems like we have a pretty good sense of what’s going on.
What do you make of this Cathay Pacific pilot taxiing speed situation?
Well if you’re going to penalise workers who try to maximise efficiency and arrive earlier than the scheduled in-block time by cutting their pay, why wouldn’t you expect them to slow down and arrive just on time as planned? You created this mess Cathay. What a toxic company now- and no, I don’t work for them.
Imagine an office worker getting paid mon-fri and on Thursday night their boss says……well done, you’ve finished this weeks work, go home, you’re not being paid for tomorrow. You can bet the office workers would slow down their work to fill Friday and get paid for 5 days. What’s the difference?
CX have a “ cost “and environmental saving initiative of when ever possible Reduced Engine taxi In. Means after landing shut one engine down and taxi in on one engine to save costs. Most if any other airlines do this. And not surprisingly if taxing on one engine vs two the speed is slower. Is this a good or bad thing ??
It does take more skill from the pilots and creates more work...
CX have a “ cost “and environmental saving initiative of when ever possible Reduced Engine taxi In. Means after landing shut one engine down and taxi in on one engine to save costs. Most if any other airlines do this. And not surprisingly if taxing on one engine vs two the speed is slower. Is this a good or bad thing ??
It does take more skill from the pilots and creates more work for them but if do properly it is safe.
So CX pilots are going the next level for the environment. Who knew. Shame there not paid for it.
Name another major airline doing RETI ?
Sample size one but taxiing out of SIN the other week on CX took about 30 minutes, I was wondering what the issue was...
In solidarity with Cathay pilots and cabin crew I will never fly with Cathay again! I have talked all of my family and my wifes family out of flying with Cathay again. This alone has resulted in multiple bookings per year Cathay misses out on.
It was my dream to work as a pilot for Cathay but now I talk fellow pilots out or ever going to work there. They are officially the most...
In solidarity with Cathay pilots and cabin crew I will never fly with Cathay again! I have talked all of my family and my wifes family out of flying with Cathay again. This alone has resulted in multiple bookings per year Cathay misses out on.
It was my dream to work as a pilot for Cathay but now I talk fellow pilots out or ever going to work there. They are officially the most dispicable sycophatic disgraceful airline management in the world! Cathays entire management should be removed immediately. Hell I think most would rather Alan Joyce... now that is saying someyhing
You have a problem. Get some help
It's coordinated. Friend is a CX 777 pilot, said everyone is doing it to get back at management.
I think they want planes to taxi more quickly because they want people to escape the CCP as soon as possible.
Well, If i was going Long Haul, I find taxing longer one of the more enjoyable parts. Please don't rush CX pilots, On any of their International flights, please.
When will managers ever learn that pay cuts result in low morale and an unhappy workforce that does not feel “valued” will unwittingly produce less?
As a pax who is paying 2X pre-pandemic prices, I would far prefer the Pilot of my aircraft has a positive attitude and enthusiasm & diligence for their assigned tasks.
If Cathay pilots are severely underpaid, why not hop to other airlines that pays better? Last I read is that pilot shortage is a thing (or maybe in SE Asia it is not a thing?). Certainly there are more than couple airlines base in cities a stone throw from hk.
Because of seniority.
You obviously don't know how airline seniority works. You can't break it. In a nutshell, he/she with the most time on board, and in the right equipment, gets paid the most. A senior captain can't just "hop" from one airline to another without losing three-quarters to seven-eighths of one's pay rate! This will be the case UNLESS one gets in on the ground floor with a new start-up where the jobless captain might only lose...
You obviously don't know how airline seniority works. You can't break it. In a nutshell, he/she with the most time on board, and in the right equipment, gets paid the most. A senior captain can't just "hop" from one airline to another without losing three-quarters to seven-eighths of one's pay rate! This will be the case UNLESS one gets in on the ground floor with a new start-up where the jobless captain might only lose half to two-thirds of their pay rate. Not an easy deal to swallow.
Is it just me, or do Turkish Airlines pilots taxi very slowly at Istanbul airport? It always feels like taxiing to the terminal takes forever, and it's not just that the airport is huge, also the speeds feel really low.
It could be that the arrival runways are, what seems like, 25nm from the terminal.
This is exactly why pilots weren't paid for the time on the ground to begin with. Pay was to be given for time in the air and flight time has a high pay per hour for this reason. Paying pilots to for time in the aircraft only allows them to muck around for more money. This can also lead to reliability issues, if pilots are being paid to sit on the ground they could purposely call equipment issues so they get paid while passengers wait for nothing.
Check out CX716 depart SG T4 on 13May.
Taxi time was 38mins!!
Is that acceptable and professional?
Yep, I experienced this as a passenger out of SIN on April 23rd
Hi,
CX usually departs off the new runway the old middle Rwy is shut atm they are building another new Rwy and terminal this means this is currently one of the longest taxis distances wise in the world.
Fyi
Well, as the flight arrived on stand at HKG only 1 minute behind schedule, and without categorically knowing why the taxi time at SIN was so long, I would personally say it's neither unacceptable nor unprofessional.
Departure taxi times at SIN will be long when Rwy 02R is used between mid-November and mid-May when prevailing winds are from the north. Add to the fact that CX departs from T4 and you have the worst taxi times of all at 30 minutes or longer; those from T1/T2/T3 are clocking 20 to 25 minutes or so as well.
However, mid-May has passed and the prevailing winds are now coming from the south, so...
Departure taxi times at SIN will be long when Rwy 02R is used between mid-November and mid-May when prevailing winds are from the north. Add to the fact that CX departs from T4 and you have the worst taxi times of all at 30 minutes or longer; those from T1/T2/T3 are clocking 20 to 25 minutes or so as well.
However, mid-May has passed and the prevailing winds are now coming from the south, so take-offs are in the other direction (Rwy 20L) which has cut the taxi time by 10 minutes.
There is minimal effect on landings, due to the proximity of Rwy 02L/20R to the 4 terminals.
However, I do believe there is some truth to the CX-specific slow-downs, either as a work-to-rule measure, low morale or trying to clock overtime for more pay.
Anecdotal, perhaps, but I can attest about SWA pilots and their taxiing habits. It's especially noticeable at a relatively compact airport like Midway. On a recent flight from PHL, we landed a little long, hit the brakes hard, and then headed over to the gate at break-neck speed. Not that I minded, it got me off the plane sooner, but I certainly noticed it.
Yes, Southwest is the only airline that computes V-speeds for taxiing.