Leftheadingnorth,
Very interesting. I wonder how many current Norwegian pilots would consider that. Would they get any preference given their current Norwegian status? Probably not. Personally, if I were in that situation, I'd consider a 3-year Thailand vacation to fly the 787. Returning to chilly Oslo after 3 years in the heat and humidity would be an interesting transition.
Another question: will all of the 787 pilot slots be based outside of Scandinavia?
This idea that longhaul opportunities can be exported to keep longhaul costs down is a dangerous idea for pilots in my opinion. This is a dangerous precedent for our profession - Jetstar Asia moving to Hong Kong (and already Singapore and Japan) and now Norwegian basing aircraft in Asia. Why not outsource the entire pilot operation to the Congo or to India? The 200+ new Boeings and Neos could be flown by cheaper Eastern Europeans or Ukranians - they are located not too far from Scandinavia. It would be far cheaper than employing pilots in high-taxed Scandinavia. Right? I understand the economic rationale in the LCC world. Margins are tight and competition intense. I understand that. But we are not talking about a major increase in 787 airframes and total number of pilots impacted - maybe 10-18 787s according to some articles. Basing pilots and airplanes in Bangkok seems a bit extreme considering the small number of pilots on the 787 relative to the huge numbers to be flying the 737 Max and Neo in the years to come.
I am not as familiar with Norwegian as I am with Ryan/Easy. How are Norwegian pilots responding to this exportation of their longhaul opportunities? Are they as pi$$ed as I would be? Is there a union involved? Will there be a lot of applications internally for the 3-year Thailand/787 vacation?
