Aircraft, there are two camps that are widely opposed and you're in the one with big areas of open ground between tents. In my opinion, I don't think Rex can NOT afford to pay pilots more. It's as simple as that. If they can't afford to be in business, then they don't deserve to be in business. If fuel prices go up by 100%, they can afford to pay that. They have to! They are a small fish in a big pond with no influence over fuel prices. What's so different when the price of pilots goes up? They can bleat and bemoan the shortage, appeal to the government and start a cadet scheme. They can blame other airlines for "poaching" their crews. At the end of the day, they're cancelling flights for lack of crew. If they can't afford to pay pilots more, then so be it. They'll simply go out of business. It seems to be a classic case of "cutting off your nose to spite your face".