I tend to agree with the words of our Zimbabwean friend that this thread appears to have nowhere to go. However i have enjoyed the reaction to my first post.
There are clearly several contributors to this thread that are permanent EJ flight crew (some of whom appear sympathetic to the plight of Flexicrew), but it would be very interesting to hear the regulators side of this debate. And at the same time do we have anyone from BALPA who would like to add their comments?
It would also be very intersting to hear from any of our French & German neighbours to understand how they manage to balance supply & demand without descending to the likes of a Flexicrew contract. I suspect it isn't simply employment law, and there must be a more structured relationship between Airlines, regulators and FTOs.
And finally the very valid IR35 point raised by one of my fiercest critics, Poose, ought to be pursued with some vigour. It was the abuse of the self employed status in the construction industry that was a major factor leading to the creation of IR35, and there appear to be valid parallels in the Flexicrew contract.
As an engineer, problem solving is my daily bread & butter but everyone here appears (perhaps reluctantly) to accept stalemate, status quo, call it what you will, and as such is there any point in continuing the discussion? Rants, whining, slagging off those that have no power, but at the end of the day it isn't achieving anything.