This company has received a lot of (negative) coverage on the Far East forum.
They are apparently willing to hire almost anyone as pilots, regardless of experience, but pay a miserable salary, and expect you to pay for items traditionally provided by the employer, eg. uniform.
As a result, some pilots see Lion Air as a "stepping stone" - hoping to gain some experience there, before moving on to better employment.
It should be obvious that an employer who cannot afford to supply his pilots with the company uniform, is more than likely cutting costs everywhere else as well - especially necessary MAINTENANCE!!
Another new operator in Singapore - TIGER AIRWAYS - is in a similarly financially strapped position of not being able to afford to pay for their pilots' uniforms, nor crew meals!!
Worldwide, the profession of pilot has undergone a concerted attack for just over 15 years now, with the main thrust of the attack being that pilots are nothing more than computer operators, and that just about anyone can fly an aircraft these days.
Resultantly, the experience levels in airline aircraft have dropped dramatically, as airline management have become less concerned with Safety and more concerned with reducing operating costs to as low a level as they can........."You don't land due to weather and expect the CEO to call you on your cellphone asking you to get your butt to the destination regardless of weather"
I tend to think that there are probably several young Australian pilots flying in Lion Air, hoping to get their experience levels up and get out, before being killed.
I wonder if the F/O really was from Aruba, as that country is to aircraft what Liberia was to ships - a country of "convenience". A licence from Aruba is likely to be a dodgy one.
So, with the profession of pilot, and consequently Safety levels, now having been eroded for some time, the chickens are starting to come home to roost, and the management that have made these decisions must be willing to accept the REAL COSTS - the damaged/destroyed aircraft, and the subsequent deaths and injuries on a large scale each time.