Please, oh please Steve Creedy, show some journalistic integrity
Steve, I beg of you, don't give a token one line "union and pilots want more money".... why don't you put the effort in and write a balanced article which, rather than copy and pastes 95% company propoganda, maybe shows 50% of the company's opinion and 50% of the union's position. If you can waste your time interviewing LKH, why don't you interview Lawrie Cox from the AFAP?
The real facts are:
1. The majority of drivers who have left in the last two years didn't have any huge aspirations to fly a jet and didn't want unrealistic pay rises - but left BECAUSE FINANCIALLY THEY WERE FORCED TO SO THAT THEY COULD SUPPORT THEIR FAMILY
2. By propogating these myths (unrealistic 100% pay increases, or were going to leave to fly a jet anyway) it has allowed Rex management to greatly reduce wages. They must have realised a 2nd year captain costs less to pay than a 10 year captain, so have accepted the higher training costs and pushed the more senior, higher paid captains out.
3. They have then used the high attrition rate to try and gain mileage in eba negotiations - when in fact they have driven it to reduce costs.
4. If you read their press releases and media articles, they have blamed - fuel prices, other airlines deliberately poaching their pilots, pilots not being loyal, pilots calling in sick ... in fact just about every excuse other than themselves - wage tightening to boost profits at the expense of experience and safety.
I have no doubt in my own mind that Rex management, and Rex management alone, have driven the exodus of senior pilots to reduce wage costs.