7 Years ago when I first entered this industry I was very lucky to gain employment with a "traditional" airline with a "traditional" contract which has remained largely unchanged. However, at the time I would have taken a job with almost anyone, Ryanair included. Paying for my own type rating was never an option because I had run out of money but if I did have the money I would have considered it.
Things change after a few years. I am still employed by the same airline and am happy - why? Because I am paid well and treated fairly. I will remain with them for as long as this continues. If my airline had gone down the Ryanair road of F*You management I would have been long, long gone by now. This brings me to my next point.
It is obvious that Ryanair is exploiting the bottom end of the pilot market with this contract-style employment. This will not, and cannot, last. People will never stay for long under such conditions. They will have no sense of loyalty and therefore won't care if the airline survives or not. This type of attitude can, and will sink an airline. Attrition rates will increase which will sap the airline of any decent level of experience. OK their training costs are minimal because they will not accept their responsibility for properly and fully training their workforce, but lack of experience will quickly equate to serious schedule instability and complete inability to expand (which this type of business model relies on) and eventually incidents & accidents. This will be noticed by the media and the public and the airline will fail.
MOL has failed to take this into account and he will pay for it in the relatively near future. He has seriously miscalculated with his anti-union rhetoric and does not realise that if he would simply treat his staff fairly and pay them responsibly then they wouldn't join the union. But that is by the by. In the meantime, however, other more responsible employers have to compete with this terrible airline and therefore there is downward pressure on T&Cs for all pilots in the industry. This will all end in tears because as I mentioned above, seven years ago I would have put up with it for a while. But not now - I would leave the industry entirely if I had to work for anything like what Ryanair pilots had to put up with. I love my job but there are other jobs out there and I will not prostitute myself in this way. I am not alone, I cannot think of anyone in my airline who would do any different. Over time many pilots have left to go elsewhere in the UK or worldwide but to my knowledge, no one has ever left my company to join Ryanair (at least in the last decade anyway), which says a lot.
Everything is cyclical and by the time T&Cs start improving again (because of simply supply and demand problems) there will be a serious lack of experience in the industry because so many will have left. All thanks to Ryanair.
Zippy