Just stop your argument right there.
What you are saying we shouldn't fear happening has happened. Isn't the Jetstar cadetship costing well over $100k including type rating and the pay only about $40k per year. It gets worse than that, in the home of cadetships, Europe, not only are cadets paying for their type ratings they are now paying for 500 hours line training. How long before this S**t comes to this part of the world. Where will it end?
I believe the starting rate for a JQ cadet is actually around $64k, not $40k. This is also a STARTING rate and not the same as what you could be expected to earn over the entire course of your career.
In a way JQ is making a gamble through this kind of program. They are taking people with virtually no experience and gambling that they will work out to be valuable pilots.
Part of the JQ cadets program actually has JQ paying around 25% of the program cost.
Jetstar will provide you with sponsorship (AUD 21K) towards the training costs of the ACP, provided you stay with Jetstar for 6 years. In addition to this Jetstar will fund (up front) the remaining costs of the ACP program - this will be repaid to Jetstar by cadets over a period of 6 years whilst you are employed as a pilot operating for Jetstar.
The above is from the JQ website.
So yes, you are paying for the majority of your training. Its not just a type rating BTW, its also CRM type training and skills training to help be sucessful in your career.
I'll be honest in that I dont know what the current 'normal' starting rate for a JQ F/O on a 320 is but effectively JQ is paying 21k to secure your services for six years.
And yes, JQ is most likely doing this as a cost cutting measure. Over the long term they get to employ F/O's on a lower starting rate than normal. In return however those F/Os gain considerable skills and experience which is able to be taken to any other airline they like. Skills and experience that they simply wont get if they instead spend those 6 years flying GA instead.
So its from my seat here a bit of give and take. You give up some starting pay in exchange for the experience that you simply wouldn't be able to get otherwise.
Well that's a no brainer. It's going to affect your opportunities for a better lifestyle for a start.
Pilot demand is on the rise and the amount that any driver gets paid is based on the oldest economic model of all: Supply and Demand.
Take the predictions from Boeing for example. Thats a hell of a lot of people that the airlines need to find who are willing to spend the 100k in order to fly the big shiny things. Not to mention the fact that not everyone who wants to be a pilot actually has the skills in order to be sucessful.
Demand then starts to outstrip supply. Airlines start to pay their drivers more in order to retain them.
No, I'll admit I'm not some expert in the aviation industry but I'm certainly clued up enough to know things like simple economics and HR principles. From the HR perspective: you hire the guy with the best skills along with the best attitude. I fully intend to be that guy so I personally have no concerns with having more competition for any jobs because I have enough confidence in myself that its simply not going to matter.
Also I'd be interested if you could find something that backed up the theory that cadet programs over the UK have resulted in a decline in pay for those beyond the cadets. Have the FO's or the Capts started taking pay drops because of the programs resulting in the increase in supply? I would doubt it for the simple reason that airlines have no interest in losing all that established experience. Not the mention the
PR disaster when the public start thinking the guys in the cockpit are unhappy because of ongoing pay disputes.