Crikey is this thread still rumbling on? Of course it is. Predictably another Ryanair thread descends into useless drivel. Ryanair and its methods are undoubtedly controversial but the fact is that they are an inevitable reality of the current industry.
Unfortunately, there are too many closed minds and stubborn egos on both sides for any meaningful discussion. You cannot discuss with people who will not listen and almost every contributor to these threads is to some extent constrained by a vested interest in their own circumstances. Additionally, many who venture opinions are so devoid of factual knowledge or common sense that any hope of a worthwhile thread is futile.
What we should be able to agree on is that sponsored and salaried basic training is long extinct and that type ratings have been going the same way for many years now. (If you're bonded you're still paying for it). I think we would all love to be turning up to the BOAC college at Hamble in 1960 fully sponsored and getting paid from the first day we sit in an aeroplane, but those days are history.
Nobody particularly wants to pay for a Ryanair TR but as WWW diplomatically said, it's the only deal on the table at the moment which leaves you with two choices:
- Withdraw yourself from the industry for the time being, allow skill fade to set in and hundreds of fresher, younger and more current pilots to join the competition for any jobs which appear in the future - and hope for the best.
- Or, take the deal, in full knowledge of the financial considerations, the employment terms, and the risks versus the benefits, and again hope for the best.
It is the privilege of each individual to make their own choice and anyone who posts here should do so in the knowledge that they are not entitled to decide on behalf of any other poster, a common mistake, it seems. Whilst the current employment market is an ugly one, an individual has no more control over or responsibility for these market forces than he has for the price of petrol or international exchange rates. Good luck to all those choosing their path in difficult times.