External recruitment....
Well....controversial I know, but external recruitment to highly experienced Airbus pilots may not be such a bad idea, if their backgrounds are alright. I would question a bunch of junior officers taking quick upgrades, or a fleet of aircraft being crewed by pilots with zero time on type.
I know everyone likes to pick on the Impulse guys, but in terms of cockpit technologies it's probably the closest to the Airbus.
What really needs to be done is an enormous solidarity drive with the Qantas Link and Impulse pilots to bring everyone on-board with a common goal.
We really have to get over ourselves. Have a few beers and iron things out now, this is Australia's only hope from escaping the pilot's own hall of doom that started with the botched mass-resignation in 1989. Sir Peter Abeles and Bob Hawke screwed things up, but we only have ourselves to blame for this present predicament.
It's time for all pilots to unite everywhere and agree on common treatment and work at achieving it everyday for the rest of our careers.
I have a farm near Port Macquarie, I've got to go back there in April, and one day I wouldn't mind returning to live in Australia full-time. A lot of people criticize the Yanks, but they do really get behind an idea and run with it, yes that includes some bad ones...but it's better than falling into the apathy that has swung through Australian labour.
As a former union air safety representative for an airline I worked for based in JFK International, I can tell you that unions are bloody hard work, for very little thanks and lots of criticism.
They are a very necessary evil!
I urge you one and all, join the "Dark Side"!