Last time, REX scoured G/A and then went overseas in an effort to find "suitable" pilots. The G/A experience whilst initially sucessful, soon became problematic as most of the prime candidates had already accepted jobs with the Majors. Subsequent candidates were of a calibre that made them increasingly "unsuitable", but not for the reasons that Jim Davis has purported!
REX then went to Eastern Europe, but this amounted to naught. One can only speculate at the miriad of reasons for this. REX found some relief by going to South Africa. They employed 6 guys with a variety of experience, the last of whom are now completing their Command upgrades. By and large these guys have worked out well (I have personally flown with them all), but IMHO they were no better or worse than one would have expected from the ranks of Aussie G/A applicants with similar experience.
So why had the Experienced G/A applicants (and there are still plenty of them) become unsuitable, but more to the point, why are the South African Guys who come from similar backgrounds, suitable? Simple, as far as the Aussie G/A applicants are concerned, THERE WAS NO WAY REX COULD HOLD ON TO THEM! The Law and Order issues in South Africa, and the desire for these pilots to provide a better life for their families, enabled REX to "secure" their services. REX paid for their relocation costs, and provided up to $30K in settlement expenses for them to come over. In return, they give REX 7 years service, or they have to pay the money back. Do we see a trend here? In a similar way the same applies to the Cadets, Captive Workforce.
Senator Heffernan's remark about REX not being here today if it weren't for the Cadet Scheme is unfortunate, but not surprising. He has taken REX management at their word, and as such has failed to grasp the true nature of the problem. REX would most certainly still be here today. The company's impressive debt/equity ratio would have seen to that, but one of two things would have happened. Either REX would have contracted in size, or the company would have had no choice but to compete for experienced pilots. Jim Davis has stated on more than one occasion that the latter course of action would bankrupt the company. The fact of the matter is, that to effectively compete for the limited experience pool out there, REX would probably need to increase fares by approx $7 dollars per ticket! If such an increase would lead to financial disaster, especially when you consider REX enjoy a virtual monopoly on 90% of their routes, then they should probably close the doors right now! Somehow I don't think so.
So what will happen in the not too distant future when REX are once again cancelling flights because of a lack of Captains? Well, they could pray for GFC MK2, or hope that another friendly English speaking nation descends into chaos, or they they can do the only thing that will lead to workforce/schedule reliability into the future. $7 a ticket? Money well spent I would say.
Unless of a course a fundamental make-up of your DNA (see Airline management) prohibits any thought of such a response!
