Some good points raised.
Yes, people who make certain remarks throughout the business are a tiny minority. My comment about "some pilots" was in direct response to Corkey McFuz comment which I quoted. Secondly, I was (un)fortunate enough to be forwarded a disgusting txt message one of my junior colleagues received shortly after the 387 was announced. They're a former Regional Pilot who joined the Jet as an external. Enough said?
As we're seeing with Tag & Release, the GOP list (Joining the lists) does not come without unintended consequences.
The Cadetship being attached certainly didn't help, nor did the Regional Pilots (again, a small minority) threatening to make legal challenges to get higher Jet Seniority numbers based on their 10-015 years in the Links.
Merging the lists based on date on joining would be an industrial disaster and Slezy9 was correct in their comments about doing so.
A joint list has it's problems, and a lot of people supporting it have everything to gain by it and/or nothing to lose. What does it matter to me if 600 Regional Pilots get bolted onto this list 4-500 odd places below me?
Firstly, I'm going to state a painful truth. Many former Regional Pilots got their Air NZ Jet jobs at the times they did because those before them failed interviews... infact, that's true for most Pilots who joined any Airline in the latter stages of wave.
Many Regional Pilots got their job in the first place, because Pilots (such as myself) left and took external Jobs creating a vacancy... especially during the years where Air NZ weren't hiring.
Nothing exists in a vacuum.
I've moved an average of 20 Seniority places a year since joining Air NZ Jet. Only recently has that increased to around 30 a year. 600 Pilots on the RSL equates to 20-30 years of Jet Retirements. Those of you currently in the Regionals, who want the GOP list, take a look at your current Seniority and consider the implications of where you might be instead if the GOP list was created 10 years ago.
Whittakers goal with the GOP (with or without Cadets) was to hire young Pilots in the Regionals and keep them there, ending (or least heavily reducing) the bleed to external Jet Operators by dangling the Air NZ carrott.
If the GOP was created now, many Pilots can see the advantage of it to them. But if it was created 10 years ago, and successfully reduced the regional bleeding of Pilots, you wouldn't of been hired when you were due to less attrition. Some of you wouldn't of been hired at all, and all of you could potentially have 3-400 Jet Pilots about to displace you.
Again, nothing exists in a Vacuum, there are far reaching implications of joining the lists.
Movement in our industry is a good thing, don't be so quick to get locked into Seniority from day one and sit on the treadmill. We're often too quick to form an opinion based on our own little bubbles. Air NZ Pilots (many years ago) sold the Retirement leave for future generations because they were allowed to hold onto theirs. I viewed the GOP list in the same manner. A group of Senior Pilots selling the juniors a turd because it benefits them.
Lastly, with the GOP list, there was the problem of externals. Again, if the GOP list existed 10 years ago, how would Air NZ of expanded so rapidly? The GOP list doesn't change the Regionals ability to release Pilots so they still would of been forced to look externally but I guarantee they would of had a very poor response. With 600 Regionals Pilot ahead of you, any external would be facing 20 years as an A320 FO or SO and no one would sign up for that.
To be clear, I've always supported the Pathways project of protecting jobs for Regional Pilots who should otherwise have been on a Jet if not for being held back by their managers. But neither the GOP nor T&R are the answers in my opinion. All they needed to do, was keep everything exactly how it was, interview Regional Pilots in the same 70:30 ratio, and those who were successful but unable to be released get a Jet Number.