Originally Posted by
machtuk
there are a few reasons why they lose drivers and can't get drivers. The numbers just aren't there anymore compared to say 10-20 years ago so the drivers with the req Hrs are not stopping off at their door. IT has steered plenty of people towards a career that doesn't involve shift work and repetitive training and checking. The Airlines have recruited aggressively over the last 10 years or so drying up the pool. GA is all but dead meaning the traditional ladder is very weak. let's face it money is the biggest incentive for most, the Ruffdus simply can't compete with the big shiny jets job, they are exiting in numbers the Ruffdus has never seen before!
Sign of the times, the Australian flying landscape has/is changing!
Well maybe you could come out of retirement along with sms777 and work for the RFDS, help them out, along with a few others who have had a career already and would just do it for fun. Yeah, the aircraft look nice enough but believe me after few years the novelty wears off, especially when the guy who puts the fuel in the wings earns more as a base pay not to mention his overtime. The paramedics in the ambulance probably 150% the pilots salary. So it's not so much the lure of the shiny jet, its about providing for a family and maybe for a comfortable retirement in the future, can't blame anyone for that.
For 50 years I have been hearing about aviation operators not being able to afford to pay a reasonable/liveable wage. Like everyone else I am a great supporter of the RFDS but they are just going to have to offer what it takes to attract and keep the right pilots for their services. GA might have changed but offer an attractive package and there would be any number of applicants. I would be interested in the RFDS costings and see who is earning what!