What does Cathay Pacific publish about pilot pay?

On its careers site, with figures as of January 2026, Cathay Pacific lists a target annual salary of HKD 629,109 for a Second Officer and HKD 964,646 for a First Officer. Both figures assume the pilot achieves the target annual block hours, and the airline says they are subject to periodic review. On top of this it lists a monthly allowance from HKD 14,000 for a Second Officer and from HKD 20,000 for a First Officer, with 21 and 28 days of annual leave respectively. A July 2025 copy of the same page, with figures as of January 2025, gave HKD 607,800 for a Second Officer and HKD 932,000 for a First Officer. The careers site does not publish a figure for captains.12

What do captains earn?

Cathay Pacific's careers site does not list captain pay. According to an internal memo seen by the South China Morning Post in November 2023, in a report republished by The Star, top-level captains would receive up to HKD 114,924 a month in basic salary from January 2024, while an entry-level second officer would be offered HKD 34,158 a month. The same report said the airline offered pilots a 3.8 per cent rise in basic salary, but that some would have to fly more hours to qualify.3

How is the salary built up?

Hong Kong Free Press reported in June 2023 that pilots receive a basic monthly salary if they reach a set number of block hours, plus productivity pay for additional flight hours and some allowances. The union chairman, Paul Weatherilt, said that before the pandemic roughly 90 per cent of the salary was guaranteed, whereas a large part is now earned at an hourly rate. From January 2024, Cathay said it would compensate pilots for up to 50 per cent of any shortfall in hours caused by company-initiated roster changes that could not be replaced within the month.45

What bonuses and benefits are there?

The careers site lists a discretionary year-end bonus and profit share payment, a company contribution to a pension scheme, medical coverage, a children's education allowance for eligible officers and discounted travel, and gives a typical Hong Kong tax rate of around 17%. After its 2025 results, Cathay said employees would receive more than 11 weeks of eligible pay as discretionary bonus and profit sharing, alongside a salary increase for 2026, according to Human Resources Online. According to Jack Bennett, the airline's general manager aircrew, Cathay raised basic salary by 3.3 per cent in 2023 and offered a bonus of up to six weeks' pay.156

What happened to pay after 2020?

The pilots' union at Cathay, known as the HKAOA (Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association), was first registered as a trade union in 1963. In October 2020 Cathay said a majority of pilots had signed new contracts that, according to the HKAOA, meant permanent salary reductions of up to 58 per cent, Reuters reported in a story carried by Yahoo Finance Australia. In October 2022 the union said around 1,500 cockpit crew had resigned and that the airline employed around 2,500 pilots, compared with 4,000 before October 2020. In April 2025 the HKAOA said pilots and other frontline staff still faced the effects of pay cuts and contract changes made since the pandemic.78910

What about the Cadet Pilot Programme?

The Cathay Cadet Pilot Programme lasts around 80 weeks and provides sponsored training towards a Commercial Pilot Licence; on successful completion, cadets go on to join as Second Officers in Hong Kong. The February 2026 vacancy says flying training takes place in the United States or Australia and asks applicants to be entitled to reside and be employed in Hong Kong or the Chinese Mainland. The listed benefits apply only once a cadet joins as a Second Officer.111