post # 17
So life in the sandpit may be a wonder and delight to many, and I can only wish them well in their new-found utopia. It is a one-way transaction and so it is good they do enjoy it, as they will not be coming back to an airline job in the UK any time soon.
NSF - I fear that the part of your post relating to a return to UK is possibly quite true. The majority of pilots who've ended up out in the sandpit over the past 12-18 months are there because they were either at bust airlines or those downsizing and it was the best offer on the table by some margin (my situation). The post as a a whole seems very self-satisfied but the last paragraph is just unbelievable and unwarranted.
There were 2 airlines with a significant presence in UK that were recruiting (one of them in a big way it seems from your post). Both airlines consistently either ignored those (experienced) pilots or tried to get them employed on ridiculously poor contracts heavily weighted to the employer.
The next batch of UK pilots going out to the ME will be going there with the lure of a better job and for more positive reasons (unless another airline goes belly up) so maybe the attitude of your last para would then be more justifiable.
No matter how you spin it, the ambition to drive down Ts & Cs in the LoCo's has significantly benefitted the Middle Eastern airlines and pushed a lot of experienced pilots overseas. It begs the question then; why, if EZY is recruiting next year, should it be so impossible for experienced UK pilots to get back the the UK anytime soon?
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