Let's be honest, there was never a crew base in Tampere.
There's obviously a fast track command at the moment, and I fly most of my time with young captains who were upgraded less than 6 months ago. You just need to have the right requirements. And that's just as well, because I don't want to fly in Zurich with a captain who has no experience on the 220, nor any experience on a jet.
A lot of pilots are leaving (and I'm one of them), but the reasons are not linked to airBaltic's financial situation. Exhausting rosters, ACMI literally destroying personal lives, a base (Riga) that's as nice to live in as a gulag in winter, low pay for captains... These are the reasons.
Strangely enough, FO salaries are actually quite decent. Not good enough, given that we spend all our time in ACMI, but I've received contracts from big companies in Western Europe and the salaries aren't that attractive. Count 5k after tax (all inclusive) during the summer for a FO with 1000h at airBaltic. 3k during the winter when the roster is very chill.
They've lowered their requirements because they need to find a large number of new pilots to compensate for the people leaving and to plan for their growth, which the academy isn't currently able to train. In addition, the improved rosters planned for 2025 will require more crew.
Beyond that, airBaltic is a good opportunity depending on how far you've progressed in your career. The academy is probably one of the cheapest programmes in Europe, with the assurance that you'll end up on the right side of a +50t jet. You have to pay +100k at CAE/EZY, here we're talking about 25k as airBaltic sponsors more than 2/3 of the price. (The financial risks are therefore very low in the end). If you're an experienced turboprop pilot, you can switch to a jet and become a captain in just one year.