This December marked the 35th anniversary of the Cadet Pilot Training Programme, as the airline continues its commitment to growing the next generation of young aviation professionals. Cathay Pacific strives to deepen its contribution to Hong Kong society, focusing on nurturing advancement in the domains of youth, sports, arts and culture. The airline believes its long-running Cadet Pilot Training Programme is a testament to its commitment on youth development.

The ceremony also marked the first group of cadet pilots to graduate from its integrated programme, developed and conducted in collaboration with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and its new flying training partner, AeroGuard Flight Training Center. The 21 cadet pilot graduates join the airline as Second Officers, following the completion of their training.

Cathay Group Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam welcomed Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Liu Chun-san, as the guest of honour at the graduation ceremony at the airline’s Cathay City headquarters. Civil Aviation Department Chief, Flight Standards Captain Lawrence Wong, and PolyU Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Ir Professor H. C. Man, were also in attendance.

Cathay Group Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam said: “This year marks the 35th anniversary of our Cadet Pilot Training Programme, from which more than 1,000 of our pilots are graduates. In 2023 and 2024 combined, we plan to recruit a record number of more than 800 cadet pilots and, for the first time, from the Chinese Mainland as well. By the end of 2024, we expect half of our pilots to have joined us through the cadet programme over the years.

Cathay Pacific developed its integrated course together with PolyU and, more recently, its own in-house Cathay Academy to expand the training opportunities for cadet pilots. The integrated course sees cadets undertake theoretical ground training in Hong Kong, flight training at AeroGuard Flight Training Center in Arizona or Flight Training Adelaide (FTA) in Adelaide, and multi-crew simulator training at Cathay City.

In addition to the partnership with PolyU, Cathay Pacific also operates its original, long-standing cadet programme hosted by FTA in parallel. The airline extended its flying training partnerships to include AeroGuard in order to offer more training courses through its integrated programme. More than 170 cadet pilots are expected to graduate from both programmes in 2023.

Enrolment for the Cathay Pacific Cadet Pilot Training Programme is open, and the airline greatly encourages aspiring pilots to apply.