Cathay Pacific welcomes U.S. court's rejection of former pilots' claim

Cathay Pacific Airways today welcomed the California Court of Appeal's rejection of a wrongful dismissal claim brought by nine former pilots, and its ruling that the matter can only be properly addressed in Hong Kong.

The pilots accepted employment and worked under terms governed by Hong Kong employment law. The California Court's ruling supports the company's belief that the only appropriate place to resolve this and any similar dispute should be in Hong Kong, in a Hong Kong court under Hong Kong law.

The former pilots' claims were first dismissed by the California Court in December last year, and the Court of Appeal has now rejected their appeal.

Cathay Pacific is confident that it has acted fully within the bounds of Hong Kong employment law.

Moreover, the ruling supports the company's position that no employee working in Hong Kong needs the protection of a court based on the other side of the world.

In their ruling the judges said: "That California would provide a remedy not available under Hong Kong law does not justify plaintiffs' conclusion that Hong Kong is not a suitable forum... It seems clear that plaintiffs' employment, as well as its termination, are governed by the law and relevant civil aviation regulations of Hong Kong..."