I've been reading this thread for a while now as I do have a (slight) vested interest. One comment caught my eye:-
pilots would have to apply for a position in NPAS, and it would be open to anyone with suitable experience
Without getting too far off the beaten track, I thought I'd lob this in:-
Under employment law (and I sit to be corrected here!) you cannot apply for a job/position you already hold just because the owner/operator has changed. This, to my mind, leaves 2 scenarios
1) If pilots have to apply for a position in NPAS, then it would have to be a
generic position. i.e. not neccesarily where you are presently employed because of the statement above. If that is the case, would NPAS be liable for relocation costs etc, etc. If so, that would add again to real costings and subtract for the
perceived savings. Better then to leave people in post surely. Which leads me on to
2) If you remain in post, you cannot apply for that position. However, as the 'operator' has changed, ALL pilots in post will come under TUPE (Transfer Under Previous Employment). Under TUPE, you MUST get the same, or better, terms and conditions than your last employer gave you. Can you imagine the legal costs of TUPE'ing all those pilots! The legal profession would think Christmas had come early. It would cost a fortune! So where (again!) are the savings?
There will be those who will disagree with me and thats OK
But we do have rights brothers (and sisters) 'cos it was the government that gave them to us.
Just a thought!