I'm not suggesting that all the F/Os who joined EJ as captains are below par - just the two jokers who left here in '98. It is however a natural assumption that if EJ were willing to take them, then they probably took others of the same caliber. The point I was making is simple - the arrogance of the EJ recruitment policy in 2002 is astounding given their past record. Equally, the chest beating by a group of people previously unable to attain a mainline career or unable to progress to captain is hypocritical and short sighted in the extreme.
As for the safety implications of the low cost model - we'll just have to wait and see.