[QUOTE]I know V Australia knocked this bloke back in favour of the (non rated?) South African. The South African must be one seriously well qualified and incredibly talented man to have been found to be a better option than the Australian they knocked back... or cheaper.
Wiley - It is disappointing that you chose to highlight the second of your two listed options.
Whilst there are certainly a number of highly qualified, capable management pilots out there, at the time VAustralia chose the person they found best suited to the job.
You certainly would have been more correct to highlight "The South African must be one seriously well qualified and incredibly talented man".
I am sure that a BSC / Bsc (Hons) / MBA / 29 years flying for a national carrier / considerable line/training and management experience on both Boeing and Airbus (old and NG) / being an integral part of the team that introduced the A340 into SAA's operation and being extremely well respected and liked by both his colleagues and many others from all fields of aviation, would qualify this statement.
He has been resident in Australia for some time and has been commuting from SA to his base in Perth. He either has or shortly will obtain his Australian citizenship.
The gross SAA salary for a person of his position would have been in the region of A$280 000 so it is unlikely that he would have sold himself short. He is obviously happy to pay the taxes necessary to sustain the lifestyle offered by Australia rather than live in the dessert or elsewhere that does not offer the same opportunity.
Give him a break / get to meet him you'll be pleasantly surprised