Originally Posted by Metro man
3.Note that I never implied it was easy to replace a senior first officer.
No, you didn't imply anything about F/Os at all. You did say directly that GA pilots could replace us. You implied that it was 'easy'. Perhaps your direct comments would remind you.
Originally Posted by Metro Man
What then QANTAS pilots are up against is the large supply of GA pilots in Australia who can replace them.
You then went on to say
Originally Posted by Metro Man
A 744 S/O yes, 737 F/O - plenty in Europe doing that job straight from training. How many 8-10 year F/Os around ready to upgrade to 737 Capt, must be a few. 744/A330 Capt not easy as evidenced by terms on offer abroad. Where did I suggest flying a bugsmasher qualified for left seat on a heavy ?
A 744 S/O still takes at least three months to get online. A 737 F/O from a direct entry would take another month or two on top of that! Given that most of the senior guys (training captains) won't work for 50% pay and can get deals elsewhere and will go , who will train them? Given that the pay will be 50% of thereabouts of current conditions, don't expect a rush of ex-pats back from o/s. They won't be interested in rates about 1/3 of what they'd be getting at the moment!
At the end of the day though, we're all replaceable.- even you Metro The question is in what time frame and at what cost to the airline whilst they do it. 'Cost' isn't just the dollars and cents of replacing crew. I'm not naieve enough to believe that I CAN'T be replaced but I also know that this comes at a cost. '89 demonstrated that sometimes, the government of the day and the airline is prepared to ante up. I'm also confident that a lot of guys have their eyes wide open as to the prospects of where this is headed.
The next thing. B, C and D scales. Whilst I voted 'no' to what some have described as a B-scale in the Singapore basing, if the tax issues are sorted out to the advantage of the crew, there could well be the case where the (unmarried or single or no dependents) crew up there end up financially in front. However, beyond that, a B, C or D scale would have to be approved by the current pilots in our next EBA. We have one more EBA to go and it's not until the expiration of that (probably in 2010 or thereabouts) that we have to start worrying about AWAs and so on. Most of us are adverse to B-scales and so I won't sign on for something that disadvantages a new joiner. However, once that EBA does expire, all bets are off anyway as we'll ALL be on B, C and D scales!
So in short Metro, are you being arrogant or did you speak poorly? Either way, it's probably best to admit which one it is now. That way we can all move on!
