OH FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD STOP CRYIN AND WHINGING!
BOO HOO MY PENSION IS GETTIN ROGERED! I'VE NO BALLS TO CHLLENGE MY COMPANY I'LL BLAME THE NEW KID! GRRRR!
Unfortunately SSTR's are a fairly standard practise and its only going to be more common place.
I'm sure 99% of those who've bought a TR would rather have been bonded for 4 or 5 yrs as your probably gonna stay with the airline that long anyway and you dont have to fork out £25k! But then airlines dont really seem to be offering those with no airline time that option... Even to get a job on a shorts, dash 8, F50 or other 'entry level' jobs you have to pay up to £15k.
Cant you see this is a direct result of the low cost sector (I dont recall self sponsored TR being commonplace before EZ and FR showed up, and lets not forget 9/11, curent oil prices)? The rules have changed. Airlines have had to adapt and save (otherwise we'll all be out of a job) where ever they can to compete and pilots are getting shafted. Then again they could be just saying that to make us bend over and take it a little deeper....
I find it funny though that people expect newbies to care about their older and 'wiser' (quite possibly sponsored) collegues T&C's. A lot have forked out over £60k for training, sent a million CV's and got jack. Plenty aren't low timers either, with some having extensive air taxi and instructing backgrounds. No recruiter gives a monkey's unless you worked 2 crew and flown EFIS etc, so one has to do what one has to do.
Do the older and wiser pilots who expect newbies to care about them do anything to help out the little guy? Has someone started a non-profit organisation that tests fATPL pilots. Where active line pilots volunteer to interview them, put them through a bunch of tests and sim checks, at the canditates expense. If they pass they get an industry recognised stamp of approval that this person, to any future employer would be of little risk and is of sound aptitude. Their CV's could automatically be forwarded to airlines through this organisaton. Or airlines come to them. ie) "Hey we need 10 pilots pronto" "OK Mr Airline man these are our 10 candidates next in the queue. I'm sure you wont be deissapointed" You see this organisation refuses to recommend so called 'top' candidates (those that excel above others). If u pass you pass, no points system where one is 'better than another', you get put in a queue, seniority if you will, and they get recommended that way. Its fair and no queue jumping. Result.
Of course nothin like this has started because once your in you dont give a $#!T about the the other guy trying to get his/her chance. You made it. Good money, good routes. Your workin pretty hard nowadays too, you wanna spend all your spare time at home (fair enough too!). Quite simply if your not willing to help them out why would they give a damn about you? Because it affects their pay scale too??? You forget, they cant get a bloody job so they're not too worried about T&Cs they dont have!!!!!!!
I suggest for all you groaners to make up a CV. Something fictional, not your own. Maybe saying you have 1000hrs outlining instructing and air taxi as your previous jobs. No Multi crew, No EFIS, No turbo prop hours. Send that CV out to as many companies you can think of. See how many replies you get. See how many will come back offering an interview on the basis that if your successful you pay for a TR. See how many come back that dont. See how long you'll be "waiting" for a job. See how long before you start thinkin a TR aint such a bad idea..........
Finally theres no point in pilots fighting each other, as pilots dont pay each others wages. Your EMPLOYER does. So instead of groaning trying to start a revolution which will fail miserably, take you future collegue who's put him/herself in dire straights financially to get qualified mind you, not just the TR, introduce them to BALPA or whatever union in your country and united stand up against your respective employer to improve your T&C's. You aint gonna get anywhere if you shun them and bicker with each other. OSOP you said this
"Pilots who are desperate enough to buy a Type Rating, Especially wannabee pilots, are never going to be the types that we can rely on in the future when it comes to trying to up hold or T&C's and pensions with solidarity. They have already proved this by selling us all short and trying to jump the que" I think you might find the opposite is true. After paying so much to get the job, one will most likely want to recoup as much during their career no? After all they HAD to get a TR to get a job, something traditionally an airline payed for, something that didnt exist only a few years ago. Most importantly a lot of us pilots are money hungry (heheh) so no doubt they are too and and im sure they'd quite happily stand next to you to improve the T&C's, once they have a job of course..... Oh one final thought, if you were successful and SSTR were banned etc, dont you think Mr Airline boss will need to recoup those costs somehow now that he has to pay for every new recruits TR????? Where do you think hes gonna save the cash? And your worried about your T&C's now.....
-PL