Guys, time to accept reality for what it is. As European pilots we have been forced to fly all over the world due to our airlines having an addiction to an ever growing supply of young, unadulterated (often very cheap) labour willing to take on €150,000 debt, at the expense of hiring experienced pilots. Through this frustration we are bringing ideas to the table that incorporate the best of what we’ve seen outside Europe. However, there’s only so much that can ever be applied over here.
A 1,500 minimum requirement is not the answer. As alluded to above, we don’t have much GA due to horrendous fuel costs and highly bureaucratic “regulators” who are from the same family as Nigerian email scamsters. You can also argue that we don’t have the same geographic and public transport challenges as they do in North/South America to make it possible for pilots to build up 1,500 hours prior to piloting a commercial airliner.
We are all frustrated because we cannot get jobs at home despite being born, raised, educated and having paid through our noses in taxes and fees (licensing) in the very lands we call home. We had the belief that by accumulating a few thousand hours abroad we’d have recruitment departments giving our applications preference. Instead they give priority to those who like debts – lots of it. There are some people out there operating within the upper echelons of pilot recruitment departments that believe pilots who trained according to their own (modular) system and were not pre-selected, are totally unemployable regardless of their abilities (some of these people frequent these forums). With such attitudes we are never going to get anywhere.
Imagine for one minute that you as a fair minded guy got into a position where you could recruit pilots according to your own principles. How long would you last in that position after airline management make the discovery that you seem to be hiring pilots in their 30s and 40s who have a genuine requirement for a reasonable and stable income whilst not being shafted at a months’ notice? It would take one bean counter to do the calculations and present them to the board. Most business men don't care about anything other than bottom line and where sustainability is concerned, airline bosses know that the pilot supply vs. demand gradient in Europe will always be in their favour. It’s the nature of the beast, capitalism at its best.