In all fairness I would guess that a lot of the posts here lack objectivity. Most of them seem to be from drivers who got to their current positions "the old way" and as such have their own personal objections to having a new way to get to the same location that may well be easier.
To those drivers who are sitting in the left seat for whatever airline and got there the old way I challenge you to answer this question honestly:
If when you started your aviation career there was an option to get into a program such as Jetstars, where you will end up with a F/O seat after limited hours in an aircraft that is incredibly popular and common around the world, would you say no simply because its not the "traditional" way to get into that aircraft.
Some of you have made an argument that the cadetships are bad for existing drivers and you may be right but only time will tell as these cadetships as yet have not had any direct impact on existing drivers (NOTE: AS YET THEY HAVEN'T because discussions on offshoring etc are still only discussions and not actually done yet).
Ultimately my priorities are simple:
1. Whats best for me and my family
2. Whats best for me and my family
3. Whats best for me and my family
Whats best for those existing drivers etc is something that they need to discuss between themsevles and their families and their unions. Whats best for the industry overall is for discussion between the airlines and the unions.
I dont think anyone should fear that being a F/O or Capt is ever going to become just a mediocre and low/mid pay job. If it ever did then airlines would find they have very very very few recruits owing to the fact that the cost of becoming a pilot far outweighs the rewards. Even the most hardcore of aviation enthusiasts will have a hard time justifying 100k of training for a 40k a year job.
At the end of the day I feel that most current drivers resent this change in the way one becomes a big shiny driver simply because it is change and because they feel it marginalises the effort and time they put in to getting where they are today. Thats understandable but also could be perceived as being petty. Life is all about change and all you can do is go with it.
Lastly to those who appear to be such experts on the recruitment policies of the various Australiasian airlines: I'm assuming you are all part of the HR dept of said airlines. Or alternatively your all ex Jetstar cadets who have applied for jobs with other airlines and been denied a job expressing because you were a Jetstar cadet?
If your neither of the above I'd love to hear how your qualified to state how a Jetstar cadetship would negatively impact anyones future career opportunities.