Right then, whats this little bit of spare change in my back pocket?
Good old mummy and daddy won't mind if I spend a tad of pocket money.
Hmm... ten possible interviews and sim rides this year at £50 then £150 comes to about £2000... lets get the calculator out - maths was never my strong point. Oh good, that's just a tiny portion of what I've forked out so far, just need to cut back a bit on wifeys expenses and a few less nappies for kiddo there.
Guvnor - if you want 'prima donnas' this seems the way to find them, not what you suggest. Do you really believe that the best pilots are those with the most money to waste? That those more fortunate are BETTER than those who are not? What right thinking person just puts good money after bad into the claws of aviation scavengers/vultures?
One can comprehend the implications of the costs of going through the CVs of time-wasters, which is why the idea of £50 refunds for successful 'interviewees' would seem to be a good idea. Not too sure about the idea of the sim ride cost, perhaps refundable on accepting employment with the company. At least that way the company will not be financing the 'joy-riders' who go along for the sim ride and then turn down the employment opportunity.
Condoning the 'rights' of these money grabbing employers though is absolutely Draconian. Would you have it that the airlines are full of 'Nigels' (no offence meant to anyone of that name)? Would you go back to the days when the only way you could get a job as a shopgirl in Harrods would be to pay them for the privilege of working there? - Watch out boys, do you have your debutante dancing cards & wear only the best make-up!
Despite the fact that some people will pay their money in desperation, poor s*ds, I for one will NOT be amongst them. This can be done in a more correct manner, including the two suggestions above. This leads on to the idea of individual bank loans for the pilots type-rating. This is currently in practise and is fair. It makes absolutely no difference to the employee pilot so long as s/he doesn't leave the company before the loan is paid, because at that point the onus is on her/him to pay it. As I see it, it just proves that the employee shows some degree of integrity, and the employer does not have the hassle of chasing after someone to pay the remains of their decreasing bond.
Let us get some even ground between pilots and airlines. A bit of double-sided empathy,
instead of the current breeding ground of greed and resentment.