Ultimately the safety risk is not even a consideration for those booking flights now, as they perceive them all to be much of a muchness. We may view this differently, but airlines will successfully argue their pilots pass the same tests and the locos have very new & sophisticated aircraft and they have an excellent safety record.
Until there are serious crashes that show there to be an endemic system issue, I can’t see the RHS policy changing. If it’s one crash, it’s crew error but if several, then it’s this wider issue.
I liken it to the banks – when Northern Rock failed, it was an isolated event (crew error), but when the rest were falling over like dominoes 12 months later, it demonstrated that the overall banking model was entirely built on sand.
Only when/if we reach that second phase, will there be any real pressure from the authorities & public, as no one should underestimate how aggressive the locos are. In the meantime, the supply of "suitable" cadets keeps coming through by the ship-load. I do think however that there should be a clear policy of what to do if this happens, and have in the past suggested “Balpa approved” flightdecks which would be mentioned in the captain’s address, but I was shot down over this.