No chip at all. I have benefitted mucho (thank you guys) from being employed by profitable operators. But I have also experienced first hand spivs who use other people's money to build empires which come crashing back to earth because the Wunderjets don't earn enough to refuel the boats and big cars. It's funny how the staff in these situations get the shaft while the boats and cars often remain. And after a year or two holidaying in the Bahamas the same spivs return to start the ripoff process all over again.
Pay-to-fly F/Os in the RHS is neither a new nor necessarily exploitative concept. Eddie Connellan had a version of it way back in the 60's. Pilots learned to fly at his school in Alice. Then they got a seat in the Heron as bagsnatcher-cum-radio operator. If they scrubbed up OK they then had a go at driving a Cessna 180 or Beech Twin Bo and eventually back to the Heron - if the airlines hadn't by then snapped them up. Many a good career and lotsa motza was made from those humble beginnings.
An old Dash 8 is unlikely to offer any economic advantage over a Metro, given the lease and crewing costs. Unless, of course our Islanders travel in the numbers needed to rule out the Metro i.e. more than 18 per sector.
That should then attract the attention of Rex, Qlink or Skywest/Virgin - or would it not? If not, why not?
Perhaps the Government needs to come the heavy when awarding routes to the bigger guys and dictate that they have a social responsibility to serve unprofitable remote areas? I think that's how it once happened, but don't know if this is still the case. I am bewildered at how one can fly from Melbourne to Brisbane for less than from Melbourne to Flinders Island. Something to do with economy of scale, I believe.
Forcing the higher-end operators to run thin routes with flash new equipment at a loss would surely jack up airfares overall? Someone has to pay. Without taxpayer-funded subsidies there will probably always be a place for Gaunty's 'bottom feeder' operators, running single-pilot capable 19 seaters with token F/Os in the RHS. Sure, they will come and go, meantime giving the Islanders an alternative to the boat. For anyone that does survive, the problem they will ultimately face is the lack of viable 19 seaters still in production. Maybe the Chinese or Russians will help in that area.
But as I freely admit, I don't study airline economics nowadays.
Bring back the Heron.....