Sorry Sid, I reckon "aircraft" is probably righter than you may think. I do think, unfortunately, that JQ do have a look at the applicant pool and know what quality they have in line and therefore have judged how much they can push this "charge for everything" bool****.
I have a JQ app in - I have 9000 total time, couple of thousand on both A330 and A320. Haven't heard a peep from them. Clearly I don't fall onto their "desirable" radar screen. Clearly they are not getting desperate. Clearly they are a long way off decorating fencelines.
And there is one more thing I would like to state clearly. I have no intention at all of taking a job with these vermin (and I do not mean any of the staff - pilots, CC, ground staff etc - I mean Joyce and his overpaid bunch of criminals). I just have an app in so as I can be one voice saying "No thank you, your fee of $10,000 for a couple of sim rides for the prurposes of Jetstar procedures training is way way way over the top for someone with Airbus experience. Two sim rides or so should not cost more than $1500 or so. $10,000 is just making money from your employees - not acceptable."
SHOULDHE - your arguments are ridiculous. "should a hospital pay a doctor to go to Uni?" is not a valid analogy. A pilot joining a major airline has done his "doctor's" training at his own expense - just like a doctor. He should now expect to be able to take his trade and be employed to earn a dollar, just like a doctor takes his trade to the hospital for remuneration. Stop trying to justify this sort of behaviour. Remember, airlines are employing pilots because THEY NEED THEM. If you refuse to pay for all this stuff they will still need pilots - only then will the trend reverse.
Rod