obtaining a position based on your financial resources.
Would you say that the opportunity to become a pilot in the first place is also largely based "on your financial resources"?
Any average human with high levels of self motivation, average intelligence and hand eye co-ordination can become a commercial pilot. The ATPL exams seem to sort a few out hence the now discredited practise of heading to the US for a quick FAA ATPL and then convert it to an Oz ATPL.
So one of the main factors that comes into play for those who
would like to become commercial pilots surely is their financial resources? We all know of aspiring pilots who work two jobs, scrimp and save, drive thirty year old cars and generally live a careful lifestyle in order to save funds for their training.
One of the major motivators for pilots to aspire to the airlines has been money & lifestyle. If they now have to fork out again to get that then they will. Supply & demand wins every time.
The ability to go to university now is also based to a large degree on financial resources. Forget about HECS even. How do you pay rent, eat and run the required vehicle whilst at university without working so many hours that it inteferes with your study?
I don't like it but my thoughts and yours do not matter. Business makes decisions that are best for them in the same way pilots make decisions that are best for themselves.
Someone has made the point elsewhere that when the career of airline pilot loses much of its' attraction then the numbers enrolling at flying schools will dwindle and supply and demand will make a correction. I believe that this slow down at the entry level is already happening.
There are also other factors generally reducing the interest of young children in aeroplanes. No more flight deck visits, tech crew less likely to do a cabin walk through, places like YSBK closing observation areas, the "flying bomb" link to terrorism paints aviation with negative images, more glamorous white collar jobs that pay more. Look at the huge growth in MBA courses!
One final thought... how low could QF or Cathay salaries drop before it really had a meaningful impact on recruitment? There my friend is the future!