This kind of thread used to really p!ss me off, reading this one just makes me shake my head and wonder who is going to win the race to the bottom.
phoenix - You have done your research but have you actually talked to any current Jetstar NZ pilots, because I've seen less sh!t come out of milking sheds than flying schools. Have you talked to any current jetstar pilots? They dont sound like a happy bunch of campers, you have to be sure that your sanity will remain intact for that 3-6 years bond without ruining your family life.
Jetstar may offer an easy entry into a jet with a marketable type rating to go overseas with. But you mention you have a family, do you think they will be happy to go live in the middle east or asia? Dont get too excited by the prospect of Air NZ. You see Air NZ are getting new aircraft (as they retire old ones) and will employ soon. But lets face it, glaciers are moving faster than Air NZ is or ever will. But when they do employ they have a huge amount of pilots within the link group that they will employ first and dont forget this wank-fest institute for aviation offering they same vauge promises as jetstar /CTC
Now CTC can't just randomly put that information up without some sort of reasonable expectation that its true. Otherwise its false advertising which would result in serious trouble
Oh true, true. why would a training school and a budget airline (the perfect storm) lie? Just remember the jetstar slogan "special conditions apply" That just highlights to me you have got a rose tinted view of things. Go to the coal face mate and ask the crew.
As has been pointed out earlier, its easy to dump on someones idea without offering advice.... heres mine. GA love older people with some practical experience or a trade behind them. Do your reasearch, find the good job$ and sell your experiences to them. we all have licences but if you have a practical skill (lets face it, flying is'nt a practical skill) that makes you vastly more employable.
I really dont think you fully see where alot of these guys are coming from. Alot of us worked a series of crappy jobs to self-fund a licence. We did the hard yards (fun, but hard) in GA to crawl up the ladder to get to a secure well paying job and fight with union assistance to keep the hard earned conditions. Then the airlines start this budget airline carry-on and they watch the foundations of their jobs get slowly eaten away. Thats enough to upset most people but it really doesnt help when people like you have no shame in admitting they dont give a sh!t about selling themselves and their profession short. If you make it through the industry and into an airline you may find yourself in a similar position to us in a few years. This whole forum is a matter of perspective, the difference is far to great for any agreement I think.
Would I have done it if I could? No.
Good luck in the aviation industry, you sound like a smart chap but you still have alot to learn about aviation.
P.s I hear you get a set of steak-knifes as a signing bonus.
