Air travel employment will be strongest if things Gatwick-related is seen to have a robust long-term and sustainable business model. You can try hiring a few pilots but if the business model is rubbish or the creditors keep getting shafted, banks lose confidence in the entire industry and capital / financing for future airlines either becomes more difficult to obtain for future start-up airlines or dries up completely. Furthermore, employees of other airlines (e.g. Easyjet) find their employment T&Cs being degraded if they don't have access to the magic-money-tree granted to Norwegian v2. Selling an unrealistic and unstable image to new hires helps nobody - people have to make life choices and commitments when entering the airline industry - if those plans are wrecked after 18 months, it just leaves a path of destruction all round.
Last autumn, I met a pilot flying a tiny puddle jumper in the back of beyond while he lived in a small town in northern Scandinavia; his wife and small kid were living with her parents elsewhere. He told me how he used to fly a 737 and they lived in Crawley until early 2020. He was hoping for better times. He did not complain and showed dignity. I have sympathy for him and his young family. Somebody like him needs a stable existence, instead of having to scrabble around and moving home so as to find work. That stability comes only when you have secure business models, instead of failed charlatans deciding to roll the dice once more with somebody else's money in the casino
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 19th Apr 2021 at 11:24.