d105,
I haven't ever claimed to have found the holy grail of aviation. All I said was that I haven't had to pay for a job. 10 years ago that was the norm, why is it so hard for you to accept that it still should be? What I do and who I do it for is still irrelevant to this Ryanair thread. Whether or not my claims are genuine does not change the realities of working for Ryanair, does it?!
Investing in your future maybe, if there are other jobs to go to. You've said it yourself you're only hanging around until something better turns up. Why are you still here?
Maybe you're doing 50 hours a month or you're on standby all month but the point is that, potentially, everybody will sooner or later end up on a majority of standbys instead of flying. Fly the cheap pilots, don't have to pay for the expensive ones!
lospilotos,
Type ratings and essential training also used to be a direct operating cost of the airlines, until the first person opened the flood gates and paid for it. Fuel, landing fees, navigation fees and maybe even passenger compensation will remain direct operating costs until the first plonker accepts a contract which says they are liable for these costs. Watch this space.