As I said before, the £50 charge is really just there to make people think twice (or more) before applying and to avoid all of those 'chancer' CVs every airline is inundated with. I'd do the same if I was in his shoes. It means that pretty much every person that's applying is properly qualified and is confident that they would be able to do the job if they get it.
Sure, it will put some people off. But so what? He only needs what, four or at the most five crews for each aircraft, so it's not as if we're talking thousands of pilots required - and given the current market situation I am sure that there will be plenty of suitably qualified applicants.
Given the choice between sitting at home on the rock and roll or paying a few quid and flying again, I know what option I'd take!
