ATR Ratings
I know that this is a sore point for some pilots, but lets have a look at he reality of the situation.
SAX, Airlink, Comair and nationwide all have pending courtcases against pilots that were bonded for conversions. The moment SAA or some moer attractive airline called, these guys were off like a shot, thinking that nothing will come of the bonding agreement. What were they thinking?
I do not know of any company that has money to burn at the rate of 10K-20K in USD per conversion.
I believe that the decision of some operators to only accept rated pilots (be that on the ATR, EMB120 or any other a/c for that matter) is a realistic approach.
This way the pilot who pays for his rating, is in a position to offer his services to any operator without strings attached. If the call comes from a more attractive airline, there are no legal obstacles which might lead to an unpleasant experience in courts or with laywers.
With the exeption of the larger airlines which have the money and whose policy still is to train the pilots they employ their way, I beleive most small operators will more and more go this route of only employing rated pilots and as an alternative provide the opportunity for pilots to pay for a rating on an aircraft operated by that operator.
Come on guys lets start some sort of discussion on this matter and see where it leads....