GoodGrief;
Absolutely. Would have been prepared to help him pop his cherry had he been prepared to to a deal on a twin rating. Five minutes into the conversation I decided he could take the nuns approach to life.
To get into VIP you need to start somewhere. For the right person we are prepared to bend our rules, persuade our owners or pretty much anything except compromise our standards. Sadly the money for investment in others is limited, however we do give our time and some cash where it is worth it.
And some operators will look the other way if a trained pilot makes himself available. The black list is more myth than reallity.
Be interested to know your experience. PM me if you like. I may not be able to help, but you form a major part of the future of this industry.
VH