While working to form the United Nations after WWII, Winston Churchill famously said
"Never let a good crisis go to waste".
This very practise became the fallback position during the pandemic, with a multitude of examples abound. While C-Suiters were, and still are, laughing all the way from the stock market to their riverside mansions, they were and still are hellbent on
devaluing the pilot profession and subsequent careers of the same skilled workforce they would (again)
need in the future.
The notion of a real or perceived pilot shortage ebbs and flows throughout various cycles of the world economy. Yet similar to what happened ex 9/11, there is now a real possibility that in the near future, significantly sized airframes could go un-crewed. There might not yet be a full blown pilot shortage (in Australia), but there is already signs of a
Shortage of (experienced) Pilots willing to Work for the Conditions on Offer.
Combine this with certain operators declaring economic and financial war on their pilot groups and you
will start seeing the cracks appear - experienced pilots can and will start leaving for
better conditions and mutual respect, while the same financial warmongering operators will start vacuuming lower experienced pilots into their ranks.
At first, it will all seem benign, but then...as the floodgates open, the influx of 'imported' pilots will cement these conditions (or lack thereof) as the new normal, with the profession being worse off for it in the long run -
C-Suite Mission Accomplished.
The Cracks are Here:
...and another operator Here:
