The order to fire comes from NORAD, if that is who dispatched them. It doesn't go like: "Nightmare 001 cleared for take-off, shoot at your will, let us know how it goes when you get back -- we'll be taking a nap here on the ground."

my friend just did that with cathay and he failed last month.

No shit the order comes from NORAD. :rolleyes: It's the pilots who EXECUTE the command and who have to push the fire button, not NORAD.

any idea on what they look for specifically? ive been thinking about that too

I hear that Cathay is pretty lame to work for. I mean, its a great company, but the people (at least flight crew wise) are elitest snobs. At least thats what I gather from employees posting on PPRuNe.

My dad flew for them for 15 years, was forced to retire as a training captain last year when he turned 55. Great people work for the airline, lots of ex-pats, and I always found both the air and ground crews to be very nice and accommodating.

The elitist snobs are the upper management. I've heard so many stories and heard of a lot of ridiculous firings, the most famous being the 49'ers. That being said they are one of the the nicest airlines in the world to fly with.

My cousin is a pilot for Singapore Airlines. He said it's a great airline to work for.