Suity yes they could outsource there training......at huge cost
Salaries are big at SAA I admit that, this is only a recent developement however, the pilots were paid
in the past, the good salaries are due to clever negotiations and 100% representation from our union, if the local competition pilots could only stand together like SAAPA you may find things somewhat different in Comair, Nationwide, 1Time etc.
Its my understanding that SAAPA is willing to negotiate big concessions to the company, however they want assurances that it will be sustainable and that when things change the agreements revert to how they were, the company is demanding an unrealistic profit in the years following restructuring, they are in fact aiming for a target not achieved by any airline in the world that has undergone restructuring, the company is demanding a few things that are unrealisitic including stardard conditions of employment across the board........so the tea lady has as many free tickets as a Captain who has been there 35 years.........the pilots will give concesions, we are just gun shy because this company negotiates in bad faith and they have proved this time and time again.
SAA is short of pilots at the moment, that is a fact so if they start retrenching pilos you can start closing routes and shutting down fleets.....end of SAA.
Lufthansa flies E135's (or 145's) thats a small jet, I bet there pilots are paid well, you may find its just a seniority thing as to which aircraft you fly at Lufthansa.
To be honest with you Suity I dont know which way to go, that song "should I stay or should I go" comes to mind........lets just say that its up to SAA to make the move, the only reason I stay in SA is because of the Job at SAA, why else would I live in a country where I am a second class citizen, my kids are disadvantaged because of there skin colour, there is rampant crime where life means nothing, horrific corruption etc etc etc.....all this for 40+% tax on my salary