Obviously everyone’s financial circumstances and leave balances are different, but taking LWOP and simply relying on an extension to Jobkeeper, plus a bit of casual work (which is getting increasingly hard to find), would be barely enough to keep my young family’s head above water in the long term. By remaining stood down and on the books, at least I can access something as little as 1/4 paid leave which would make a huge difference.
Go out and have a look at the job market for an unskilled Pilot, it’s nasty and competitive, especially when people think you’re just going to leave as soon as QF come calling. Obviously we don’t know when that time will be but jumping straight into LWOP looks like the riskier option if you ask me.