Originally Posted by Journey Man
How much blame should the pilots who didn't pay-to-fly shoulder? The ones who followed the advice of those already in the industry and didn't pay-to-fly. Those who got relegated to flying piston twins and light turboprops on crap salaries with no advancement to the jets despite accruing many thousand hours of commercial experience, because the only recruitment is of pay-to-fly pilots.
I made reference only to those TP pilots who haven't had the opportunities they may well deserve to advance their career. This is different to saying that
no TP pilots ever progress. Now I have my jet command, I can look back on the way I've done things and feel immensely proud of what I've achieved in an unfavourable market. Hence it
would be incorrect of me to
purely say that no TP pilots advance to jets, which wasn't the intention of the above quoted statement.
Bitter resentment is not really relevant here. It won't solve any of the issues. I agree that spirited back-and-forths on PPRuNe are not going to resolve the issue...! I do believe I
can say that the pay to work pilots have contributed to the shift towards an almost exclusive pay to work hiring market. They are not alone. As you've already said, market forces and the airlines are also factors, as are those who've sat around and done nothing. I'm pleased that we're in agreement that deciding who's
more to blame is preposterous at this stage. Likewise, for me it's personally important that I do all I can to help those pilots who're getting the traditional apprenticeship. The journeymen.
I fully agree with you that as a profession we should be contesting the pay to work model much more vociferously. However when one group of pilots can't see the damage they've caused through their actions, and another group of pilots can't see the damage they've caused through their inaction, I don't hold out much hope. As a skipper, I've always felt that the responsibility for your crew extends beyond the cockpit.
As a professional group there is a lot of merit in drawing a line in the sand, getting past the blame, and fighting for a fair package for pilots at the bottom of the rung would be a start and help build a solid foundation for the future.
As you say, there's a lot we agree on. Enjoy the weekend
