You kiwis have short memories;
If you want to know who started the great plunge from the cliff-of-plenty, then look no further than the start-up of FreedomAir! Barely $100K NZ (so about $2.50 in any other country
) for Captains.
So don't be bleating about the stupidity of pilots who choose to increase their income by coming to JQ (or PacBlue or Jetconnect) from whatever lower paid GA/regional job they're currently at. And some of them will be doing it for the very wise reason of increasing their experience/exposure level so that they can be more employable down the road.
In this modern age, the choice between B734 v. A320 hours is a no-brainer.
Oh, and BTW, I've been able to sneak a peak at some sample rosters for the NZ operation; they are predicated on pilots flying the quoted 85 hours each month. The low cost model is based on high pilot utilisation!
Still and all, if it's all about the money and no other considerations matter, then you're in the wrong part of the world for starters and you don't even know it!
