How much of a realistic chance is this programme, given that most of their rated and experienced pilots have been sacked and the company is likely to emerge out of the crisis a lot smaller than it was (if it does at all)? Despair for cash to stay afloat brings on lots and lots of exotic ideas, including this one:
https://www.eurocockpit.be/news/hall...during-covid19
SmartLynx promotes among its pilots a new scheme tailored to experienced pilots who are currently not flying due to the COVID crisis. The scheme requires them to pay up 1000 EUR for sim training & a license proficiency check, a cost commonly covered by the employer. In return the airline promises to reserve a spot for them as a “first choice for standby crew”. The means pilots are asked to self-fund their recurrent training in order to qualify for the standby list, but with no certainty they’d be called in for flying.
Training is a cash cow in itself. The question is, what comes after it?