Wouldn't have anything at all to do with poor progression planning or the use of cadets to cut costs who can't be upgraded because they don't meet the experience requirement.
Precisely.
When recruiting experienced overseas pilots there are some very good ones and some are bloody awful. These are the professional cowboys who flit from contract to contract and often have `history. ` Read that as you wish. As we all know, thousands of hours on one type does not ensure a safe and reliable pilot. You only have to see the doubtful quality of many of the foreign `contract` captains hired through agencies by some of the SE Asian airlines, to realise that.
You don't have to be a veteran ace to fly a Saab 340 although the qualifications demanded by some operators are ridiculous. RFDS is a prime example.