AnQrKa,
I am not buying in to the mud slinging. My post is an attempt to point out that the joys of international flying to exotic ports are not all that people dream of them to be. There are negatives, and for many, they will be choosing whether or not to take up the long haul international or stay with the domestic arm of Jetstar.
When I started in Qantas, every trip was greater than 10 days, some longer, and this was what caused the dramas in my personal life back then. Nowadays, I am away for about 15 or 16 days per month, and my point is to illustrate that this amount of time away from home can also provide obstacles to family life. For me, and many, to be away from home for say 20 days per month means you may as well not waste money paying for rent or a mortgage. From my interpretation of the agreement, and the schedules just promulgated, it can be reasonable to assume that some will be away for I would say at a guess more than 15 days per month to achieve decent stick hours.
At the end of the day, it is horses for courses. My major point has been that if you have the choice, look at all the positives and negatives, not just the exotic destinations. For a small pay increase, I personally would stay domestic, but others may choose to do otherwise (I wish them well). I am not in any way saying don't do it - just be aware of the negatives.
As to my situation which you take joy in taking a shot at - with the conditions we have in mainline the constant travelling and time away from home takes it toll. If you think that the mainline boys and girls have got it too easy with the cushy terms and conditions in their agreement, you obviously have not much knowledge of international ops. Despite what you all may think, we do work hard, and all of us face challenges that being away from home present. You have a go at me for doing the long trips back then, but conditions and otherwise were also different then. Quality of life for longhaul flying has long been fought and earnt over a lot of years.
My only other point of advice I have learnt through experience over the years - a longhaul award like QF's works really well for international flying, but not domestic. On the other hand, domestic short haul awards work really well for domestic flying but not so well for longhaul. However, due to all the mudslinging that has happened, people really don't want to know anything from those grossly overpaid and underworked egotistical mainline people who think they know everything (thanks to one or two wankers in the past we have all been tarred with the same brush). Everyone knows better like we all once did (myself included). Time teaches you things, bit like experience in the aircraft.
Good luck.