You will find many pilots in the company that say they can "not work like this for the long term" or "this is not a career airline".
...but like many didn't see it as sustainable for the long run.
Welcome to the real world folks! This is what I've been saying for years: that low-cost airlines are
not career companies!
The way they treat people the grueling hours, the total lack of any real career options (long haul, a good part time scheme, a long term sustainable short haul career etc) just makes it a nice stepping stone, nothing more.
Obviously FLR has also seen the light, but with the next crisis in sight I seriously doubt that now is a good time to be at the bottom of a seniority list.
You need to move companies and join a seniority list during the good years when the low-costs are throwing fast commands at one's feet. But hey, leaving (say 1-2 years ago!) with a low-cost command in sight would require foresight and discipline, something most obviously don't have...
Of course fresh and ambitious (busy kissing @ss in the training & recruitment departments) Dutch cadets like Alexander de Meerkat who never experienced working for any other company in their young lives haven't thought that far ahead yet. These 20-30 year olds are still full of energy, heads firmly stuck in the sand, and completely lack any understanding of how a 4 sector 12 hour duty day feels when >35 years old, let alone doing that until retirement.
Their time to understand will come, but for most it will be too late because; 1) financially they won't be able to move back to to the RHS and 2) not many airlines in Europe will want them in the RHS with 9000 hours of which 5-6000 PIC hours when they have plenty of young, fresh and 2-3000 hour jet experienced F/O's to fill those seats. But then of course there is always the Middle East and "FastJet" for those left behind...
