Willard Whyte, you might well be right there. With all his years of making tea for the flight crew, I'm sure SffP could be of genuine assistance on Mumsnet....
PVR people, the decision as to whether to stay to an IPP or whether to go early can only be made if the job market is buoyant. There are signs that major airlnes are now beginning to recruit and that ba, for example, are keen to employ ex-military pilots.
I should learn a lot more in 6 weeks time, if anyone is interested.
During a previous airline recruiting surge, the first year's pay rise alone covered a significant portion of the loss of gratuity for a Flt Lt with about 5 years seniority. But that was when airline final salary pensions were still around and just before the LoCo airlines ruined the status of airline professionals. Even so, there were many more non-pecuniary attractions in the service to aid retention than there are today, yet still there were so many pilots leaving that a significant pay rise was the only option to attempt to stem the flow. Due to the inertia of AFPRB recommendations becoming policy, ironically this pay rise was awarded at a time when the RAF was suffering cuts under Options for Change and there wasn't the same need to encourage recruiting or retention.