Management either cannot see that this affects their workforce, or do not care.
Why should they care? Why should it be a problem for management? Basically all TRSS F/O's are 'paying for themselves.' It'll cost the company next to nothing to train them, and if after x amount of years an F/O or Captain leaves then they just call the next person in the holding pool. Needless to say that this new/replacement person will be working for an even lower salary, or will be a seasonal commander.
If you don't believe me, or want to call me "negative," then just look at the long term trend vector and some of the current issues: seasonal commands and people like Flying_Clara desperate to pay for 200 hours on type etc. The company will keep on pushing and stretching the envelop untill they get things done their way, just like the way they introduced local contracts and just like the way they started TRSS a few years ago. Now those last two (local contracts and TRSS) are more or less standard if you want to work for EZY. In a twisted way, TRSS even looks great (pay 23k for a type, 3 months probation and then a fixed contract) when compared to what has been on the table more recently: pay for your type, pay 10k for 200 hours and then f*ck off.
That's why I've been saying for a long time and that is that LoCo's are
not a career airline. It's simply not a part of their business model. Why pay someone a decent salary and pension with an increasing risk of sickness as people grow older, if you can replace them with fresh (and cheaper) cannon fodder on a more flexible contract?
The future? My best guess is that (just like McPuke's) there will be more and more seasonal workers in the LoCo airline industry, giving the company even greater flexibility and an even bigger wedge to drive between pilots from different countries and bases. A small, core, workforce (with all kinds of A-scale, B-scale etc contracts) complemented by a growing number of contractors which are a combination of either beginners/turboprop drivers and more experienced (i.e. type rated) pilots returning from overseas, sick of living in the desert/China/India. Then just add a 'store manager' (base fuehrer!) to monitor the workforce (and keepin' everyone honest
) and the analogy is complete.
Oh, and please don't start now about how "flying an aircraft is so much more different and difficult than flipping burgers." Most of it is 'monkey see, monkey do', and with the advent of the MPL, anyone with a normal IQ, normal coordination skills will be able to become a pilot in the near future.
The great thing about a 737 and an A320 rating is that it's relatively easy to find work with such a rating. Yet it's also the Achilles heel, because there are (and will be!) so many rated people out there looking for work, and most of those 73's and A320's are flown by LoCo's.
