Thanks for your kind words and encouragement Offcut, and I do mean that sincerely.
In the last couple of years however we have been fed the message within the Link carriers that we are all one company, we are all Air New Zealanders etc. It is therefore frustrating that when one wants to progress ones career within the company, one is expected to jump through the same hoops as someone applying from outside with no track record within the company, despite my continuing demonstration of my competency as a Captain for the Air New Zealand group.
I have ten years sim and training records within the Air New Zealand group. I have personal recommendations from my Air New Zealand managers who have worked with me professionally over that period. Nevertheless, I am expected to pay for my own flights (on Air New Zealand) to Auckland for a two day interview process (on my days off). I am then put in a sim for 30 minutes. What does the recruitment panel expect to get from a 30 minute sim ride that I have not demonstrated over the past ten years at a Link Carrier? What does it say about the value that Air New Zealand mainline puts on the Link check and training departments?
I then take part in a panel interview where I am expected to demonstrate my commitment to Air New Zealand. I have stayed within the Air New Zealand group for ten years, I have not chased JetConnect, Pac Blue, Jetstar etc. As for my customer service skills, as a Captain at a Link carrier I have a far greater impact on the safety of a flight than I would as a Second Officer on a widebody. I have far more direct interaction with the public, meeting them face to face on an average four flights a day as I currently do, as they board and disembark. As an S/O I wouldn't even make a P/A, let alone help carry bags on board, chat with passengers etc.
Once within Air New Zealand mainline, I would not have to jump through the same hoops to transfer between fleets etc. Why do I have to do it to move from a turboprop to a jet? Sorry, but all I can see is that the jet fleet do not see themselves as part of the Air New Zealand group - if nothing else, if they had concerns about my ability to be an effective S/O then surely they would have even more concerns about my ability to be an effective Captain, wearing an Air New Zealand uniform on a turboprop. As part of the big picture, do they not think (do they care?) that, since my career prospects within the group are now effectivly zero I will be looking outside the group to further my career.
Sorry about the rant, but this is the only effective means of communication left to me. I received a brief phone call from HR saying I was unsuccessful, could not reapply and that no feedback would be provided. I emailed my current manager with these concerns and did not even get the courtesy of an acknowledgement of my email. I resent it a few weeks late copying in the Chief Pilot of Air New Zealand (yes, the publicity seeking one that never seems to miss an opportunity for self promotion) and still did not receive a reply. Well, given the current hiring boom, if Air New Zealand can't use my skills, I will look elsewhere. Makes their avowed motto (among others) of "attracting, developing and retaining the right people" ring a little hollow.