Cathay Pacific has kicked off a new recruitment drive focused on Mainland China. This comes after an incident where some of the airline’s flight attendants mocked a Chinese passenger’s English. Now, the airline aims to diversify its team by recruiting talent from Mainland China.
A New Chapter in Recruitment
Cathay Pacific recently held a six-day recruitment event from August 25 to August 30, 2023, at the Qianhai International Talent Hub in Shenzhen. This marks the first time the airline is recruiting cabin crew from the Chinese Mainland. Ronald Lam, Cathay Group Chief Executive Officer, spoke at the event, stating, “As we continue our journey since the pandemic of rebuilding Cathay better than before, we are committed to supporting the 14th Five-Year Plan and integrating into the national development.” He added that the airline aims to recruit around 4,000 people from the Chinese Mainland by 2025.
The Importance of the Chinese Mainland Market
The airline believes that now is the right time for this recruitment initiative, given the increasing number of flights and business activities between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. There’s also a growing number of Putonghua-speaking customers. Cathay Pacific’s “2023 Chinese Mainland Talent Recruitment Plan” has set a target to hire 200-300 cabin crew from the Chinese Mainland this year alone, and 1,000-2,000 by 2025. The airline sees the Chinese Mainland as making up its largest cabin crew community outside of Hong Kong in the future.
A few months back, Cathay Pacific faced a PR hiccup when three of its flight attendants were caught making fun of a Chinese passenger’s English. The incident was reported by a Mandarin-speaking passenger on a flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong. The airline acted quickly, and CEO Ronald Lam announced that the three crew members were fired. He also said he would lead a task force to improve the company’s culture, focusing on putting “customers first”.
Cathay Pacific is taking steps to improve its relationship with Mainland China by launching a new recruitment drive. This initiative aims to build a more diverse team and tap into the growing importance of the Chinese Mainland market. The airline is committed to hiring a significant number of people from the Mainland in the coming years, marking a new chapter in its recruitment strategy.
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