JPM
I know at least one of the Air NZ 737 f/o's coming your way has been trying for some time to move to an s/o slot but was not allowed to move by the company, whilst in the meantime Freedom f/o's were allowed to move into those s/o slots over the top of him. Not disadvantaged by Freedom pilots? Probably not, actually - disadvantaged by the airline and the rules of the contract, which is now happening the other way. Fair?
Whilst I am sure there are some Freedom f/o's who are more than qualified/experienced to be captains, there are also a couple of huundred f/o's and s/o's in the parent company who are also qualified for the position, who have seniority, and who have for some years watched potential jobs/commands go south to the 100%-owned budget subsidary whose setup could be viewed as another wedge to reduce pilot pay and conditions (and in NZ that was already coming off a pretty low base). Hopefully the rot has been stopped.
A primary right of all group jet pilots that the union strives to uphold is that of seniority - Freedom guys now have those seniority rights as well, which will someday have them in the seat of a 777 or 7e7. Not bad considering their chances of that happening prior to 2002. Take a step back and look at the big picture.
As an aside, given the massive hiring likely at Air NZ over the next few years, and the fact that you must now pass the Air NZ interview process to get into Freedom - why join/apply to Freedom? Will a self-funded rating still be required at Freedom? Will guys not eligible for an Air NZ interview use Freedom as the backdoor onto the Air NZ seniority list?
Slamer - agree with you re 'B' scale, however if you have spent 8 years stuck in band one, in one type/seat maybe, and have 7000 or 10000 hours or more, the chance to sit in the left seat AND get a pay rise can't be overlooked. Perhaps the next fight with the company should be over pay parity for all 737 pilots (wasn't an original proposal for Air NZ to crew Freedom?). Professional pilots shouldn't have to work for peanuts in a Low Cost Carrier - look at the pay Southwest and Ryanair guys are getting.
