Hi all -

I was hoping you could help settle a dispute I've been having with a friend, a pilot and union representative.

Some of his literature partially attributes the success of the major Asian carriers to "appalling working conditions for pilots".

Among other things, it claims that Cathay pilots perform next-day turns at such destinations as Johannesburg, Vancouver and Toronto, sometimes with no reserve crew on board. I find this hard to believe.

Is this true? I have a JNB trip in the works and I assumed that the crew, both flight ops and inflight service, would have more rest on the ground in JNB than one night.