Mr Hudd,
Much as I wish you were right, it seems apparent that two of the major airline employers in the UK, namely Ryan and Easy, are focussed on pay-to-fly "parasites", as you put it. A quick read of the Easyjet Holding Pool thread on Terms and Endearment reveals an insiders viewpoint. This viewpoint is that in the recent past Easy have sought to replace leaving pilots with "dirt cheap" (I quote the poster Norman Stanley Fletcher, an astute chap at the best of times) cadets, and those who have self funded 150 hours with Easy.
The opinion is that the short term future will hold similar policy for pilot recruitment. We all already know that a semi experienced pilot, with say 1300 hours turbo prop time, has no place at Ryanair. Why hire him when they can make money (sorry, cover their own sim costs) out of a 200 hour cadet?
In short, although your opinion that the pay-to-fly brigade will be held in low esteem holds some weight, and there will be certain quarters who always will think so, it seems to me that given 5 years these low hours cheap to hire guys are going to be everywhere, and some of them may even have a decent number of FO hours under their belt having done a few seasons with Easy, been laid off over the winter, then picked up for another season next year. Less discriminatory airlines will surely be tempted to take them on, if there is a need. They'll be rated, trained (not arguing to which standard), and ready to go.
I am not arguing that this is a good thing, not at all. Self interest dictates this to me as a bad thing. I am the aforementioned turbo prop pilot with approaching 1500 hours. I am passed over by the only holiday jet operator employers in the UK currently taking at this time, in favour of 200 hr fresh pilots who haven't put in the time slogging it in the bottom feeder end of aviation like I have. I don't like it one little bit but that's the way it is, or the way I see that it is at any rate.
