Not sure I agree about fatigue resulting from flying with low-houred F/Os - they are keen and well trained, SOPs and the line training weed out the weak. At FR I never feel the need to worry about the competence of the guy next to me. 4 off is enough to recover from the most demanding week's work. Can't comment on the EZ temp pilots' currency or abilities.
FR vacilate between offering perm and temp contracts depending on this month's cunning plan. The value on offer is always downwards though.
I am concerned that the FR growth model is funded by every supplier to FR, subsidising its mad rush to a European monopoly position. Which other business expects to keep making consistant profits while expanding like crazy?
FR aims to be the only business in the chain to make a profit.
Remember the furore when UK started charging £10 airport pax tax.
FR championed the pax right not to be taxed. However, it was happy to charge £5 each way for using a debit card, which cost itself 40p for the transaction. FR doesn't care that £10 is charged, but it does care who gets it!
Expansion is an investment in the future, normally with a return in the future. In Ryanair's case it wants a return now!
This is akin to wanting your cake and also to eat it.
At some point FR will be effectively a monopoly on many routes or even whole regions, imagine suppliers bargaining position then?
Where Fr go, others follow, they have no real choice in the matter.
Stavros at EZ wants to retake control and make efficiency savings so as to get some dividends to fund his other entirely loss-making ventures.
Wee Willy Walsh wants to square up to crew and break them asap. If he doesn't the brand may be lost altogether.
I am waiting to see if Fr returns its much reduced cash pile to shareholders if it can't get the BOGOF deal at Boeing. What will the grand plan be then? FR is into a different ball game, no longer an expansionary model. Maybe it will even reduce in size as it dumps loss making routes.
Will it have any future need of the hordes of the Zombie Army?
As the Chinese proverb goes - We live in interesting times