I cant afford a type-rating.....drat poo..and double poo, but the good news is..Ive got a job, ok its turbo-props, but where I come from turbo-props havent even arrived yet. To all those who can afford..scrape..beg..steal..borrow the money...its a free country.
What about the bigger picture however?......what happens when you tire of your shiney 737..A320 etc...and want to move onto something a bit bigger? are you going to stump the cash to move up the next level?...mayby another 20-30k for that next big shiney jet?....and what about line checks..recurrency etc.....remember what you chaps have done is set a presedent(ok I cant spell it
)...but what happens then? are you going to pay for that too?
And Phileas do you honestly believe that the accountants...finance companies..or CEO's wont see the opportunity to generate savings this way as well?
I only say this as I have yet to have a self sponsered person come on here answer these questions in any coherent sense....I suspect that the majority of SSTR come down to plain old greed. Greed in the sense of not wanting to graft (ok yes Im sure you may have grafted for the cash..im not disputing that)..but more in a sense of learning your profession..growing as an aviator..climbing the pyramid and more than anything else....gaining experience, an aprentiship(more bad spelling) if you will.
In the end everyone will lose out......those of you flying about in your shiney jets servicing your debts.....remember that you are really just pushing forward the thin end of the wedge.
As for me.....I was bonded for a set period..was happy to do so..as this was a measure of my self-worth, and a fair and equitable result.
SSTR's are ruining the industry...they have not..and will not in my opinion be nothing more than a shortcut for those who have the financial strength to ride roughshot over their peers.
Finally and unlike Skyman......I dont have any axe to grind, I recognise that many people are desperate for that first job..but we have to be realistic, pragmatic and dedicated. To busbar this comment is directed at you...simply throwing money at the problem is not the answer it never has been..and never will be.
Cheers
H
