I am inbound to my 12 yr point and will have an ATPL by the time I reach it. Plenty of people at Brize and Lyneham, and further afield I'm sure, are in the same position. Will any of us be in after our option with the current state of affairs? I don't think so. Will a hefty wedge keep us in to 16 yrs and perhaps beyond?
It would more than likely keep me in and I would guess a reasnoble percentage of others too.
Should we be throwing more money to Sqn Ldr aircrew who already have what I think is a good package? No. There should be more PAS and CS positions made available however.
I agree that we need to keep in some of our most experienced pilots, but we must remember to keep the sausage factory going too. I think we should be looking to target pilots with 2-3 yrs to run to their 12 yr point. An increase in PAS positions should be used for the pilots in the 12-16 yr band.
I would think this situation is duplicated in the NCA world too. Although there is no airline magnet, pee'd off people will always leave to try and improve their quality of life.