Exodus - depends
For those of you hoping that Flybe will start recruiting ab-initio again I think it all depends on the future external market. If the airlines on the next rung of the ladder start hiring again en masse many here think Flybe will suffer an exodus of significant proportions. The company is playing extremely hard ball with the latest pay rise which has disillusioned many, the lifestyle at present on the Q400 fleet is probably worse than even Easy or Ryan bcause we work 5/2 6/3 and even 6/2 rosters compared to their 5/4 rosters. Many F/O's are working 100 hour plus rosters per month and very few plan to stay if they get a offer of employment from Emirates/Qatar/BA/Thomas Cook/Monarch/Execjets.
The Embraer 170 order might have encouraged some to stay if the money and lifestyle wasn't so much better elsewhere but I personally know some F/O's I have spoken to who haven't been bidding for the jet because they don't wat to be lumbered with a type rating bond to clear for another three years when they get the chance to go elsewhere. £40k a year on the Embraer doesn't compare with £55k elsewhere on a Boeing or Airbus with any number of operators and more time off to enjoy it.
Rest assured that I personally know several Captains who are looking to leave or undertaking selecton too so potential exodus isn't just from the right seat.
In my view this all bodes quite well for wannabes over the next 2 years. Flybe is a great place to gain experience. Those of us who joined hoping to build a career here though perhaps feel a little sad that the company is keen to join the big league in terms of its size, ambition, airline fleet and route network but not prepared to remunerate its crews in line with the market. The Embraer is a lovely machine, I'd love to get my hands on it and frankly many of us wouldn't care if we never flew anything bigger in our career, but lifestyle and pay are what determines your quality of life outside work and to most people ther are more important than the machine they fly. sadly this is where Flybe falls short as a long term option for many.
Desk-pilot