I am not asking anyone to support the terms and conditions, but I am strongly suggesting that the safety card being played here is neither appropriate nor accurate.
A well articulated arguement NSF with some very encouraging insight.
I refer the honourable gentleman to post #50. The fact someone pays to get onto a flying program of sorts is an indication of Bottom Line over and above safety - surely you cant expect anyone to believe that if a candidate was
that good but
didnt have the funds you would still accept them? So where's the meritocracy?
For the most part the safety culture is strong at senior airline level...and I am sure PTF relationships/cadet programs will continue to evolve to ensure that that remains the case. However as senior players they do drive change in our industry and as such they are a beacon for future industry development - setting precedents as they go.
EasyJet also, in my view unwisely, 'employed' 32 of these guys 2 years ago. Only about half got to the end of their 150 hour line training and the Head of Training kicked the scheme into touch
Clearly, from what you say (above) EZY has gone through a learning curve. However, the arguement for the safety record of one company is not neccessarily represenative of the industry as a whole. Its the cultural change and
overall trend I'd be more concerned about rather than spotlighting a single operator just because they have a proven incident free and well-structured PTF. However as we have seen this trend:
-
Is having an impact on safety in other parts of the industry
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Is degrading T&Cs, effecting job prospects
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Is being used to exploit young pilots
You may well flag up the efforts gone to make EZY safer - I dont doubt it, I graciously applaud you for it. But the overall nature of what is being done and the signal it sends will impact on a broader scale. Your present the reality of the PTF as seen from EZY, but sometimes
the perception of what is happeining (over and above reality) is enough to facilitate a change we would all rather avoid.
Perhaps the answer here is to see more actual hands on involvement with candidate selection and training at FTO level? If its happening (Flybe?) then let the industry know, otherwise the safety card you are playing will never be vindicated - especially when it comes to senior airlines accepting money from pilots to train/fly with them.