Hi FB,
Good to see you are no longer so cranky.
Your reference though to the experience of the pilots in A320 incident is disingenuous. Since the incident took place in 2007, most flights would have had experienced crews as the Jetstar cadet program had yet to even begin. And to say that the pilots were either GA or military is also disingenuous as this would have applied to most crews. But the point is that since this could happen to even an experienced crew, what would happen to an inexperienced one?
Even the recent Qantas A380 incident would have no doubt resulted in disaster if it had a less experienced crew. What we should be trying to avoid is the attempt by the airlines to crew planes with pilots who have the lowest regulated experience and on the lowest T & C’s that they can negotiate. I wont even mention off shoring of maintenance as this is a whole other debate suffice it to say that pilots MAY have to shoulder the effects of more cost cutting.
I also disagree that this Brave New World that you advocate is inevitable or even desirable. Australia is lucky to be one of the most extensive GA industries in the world, second only to the USA. We should be nurturing and making use of it rather than becoming just like everybody else.
Be under no illusion that the perception of the general public is that pilots are a highly paid profession and the airlines are using this to great effect in their campaign against them. Since CASA is effectively neutral in these matters then it would appear that the senate enquiry may not result in anything concrete and no one outside of the industry will really care.
What I advocate though is something which consumer groups and the general public would support since it is effectively empowering them. By forcing airlines to disclose the experience level of the crews on their rostered flights, it gives the travelling public a choice to pay more for an experienced pilot if they choose. It also gives the airlines an incentive to hire experienced pilots rather than just the ones merely willing to work for the lowest T&C’s.