Pilots especially very experienced ones are as far as I'm concerned a very expensive assets like aircraft and should be treated with the respect they deserve from employers before they start moving on to wherever the grass starts to be greener first..
Couldn't agree more!
On a similar note - I read a thing on a small operators website the other day saying that 'we' - self funding fATPL holders - effectively subsidise the industry by paying for our own training and therefore contribute keeping the cost of air travel affordable for everyone.
Interesting way to look at all the hard work we've put in! (Not to mention all the money we've spent)
Before anyone has a go....I really dont think we deserve to be handed a job on a plate....I realise many of the people we all hope to be recruited by have been in our situation - I bet its a rare thing to hear a Chief Pilot/Flight Ops director say they walked straight into a job after their training.... Its just the way it is right now.
What irks me bigtime is that companies dont bother to reply to you at all. I mean, come on, would it spell financial ruin to employ a student/schoolkid in a Saturday job paying a fiver an hour and ask them to simply send out the thanks but no thanks letters to us as their only duty? (daft idea, but you get my point)
One other thing for sure, I'm NOT paying in advance for a type rating. I do not have any problems with being bonded to a company for a few years but that's were I draw the line. I have already spent a fortune.
Am I talking rubbish???????
No!!
The moneys got to run out sometime!!
We'll get there....It would just be nice if we got any sense at all that the airlines/operators realised that we've all given up a lot for this.
I would feel like Id won the lottery if I was offered a flying job right now, but they should feel just as lucky that 'we' are out there and willing to keep trying! (And a letter would be appreciated!)