We`ve all been there, well most of us anyway. Anchored to terra firma with a freshly minted pilot license in our pocket, an airliner passes overhead in the clear blue sky and you get that twinge in the pit of your stomach, frustration has a new meaning. You feel like you would do anything to be in that cockpit! Believe me it is awesome when you finally get the opportunity but soon there after life becomes normal. The ordinary things in life become important to you again, like seeing your family.
The problem with the on going erosion to the terms and conditions of pilot employment is that the doors that you feel are being opened to you by accepting these indentured conditions will not be worth walking through once the initial euphoria fades.
The frustration you felt as a fledgling will pale in comparisen to the phone call reassigning you to a base several hundred miles from your family , for no apparent reason, with no recourse. The threat of instant dismissal if you don`t accept that duty extension, oh and by the way we are cutting your salary next month and if you don`t like it.
You WILL wish you were like your mates (if you still have any) with normal secure regular careers. I`m no big fan of unions, but if ever there was a need for one then MOL is it! Not just for the Ryan guys but for the profession as a whole.