Hi WMB
I think the reason for this is that Flybe have had a problem with new pilots arriving, and Flybe having spent money on their type rating, then moving on within a couple of years, months, or even before they’ve finished the type rating course. You cant blame people for doing that after all Flybe is a regional airline paying regional airline salaries, it’s a mainly turboprop operator when most pilots would prefer to fly jets, and has had in the non too distant past (although I don’t think this is a immediate problem now) a question mark over its financial viability.
And that is probably the point of the large bond – it doesn’t hurt those for whom Flybe is the right choice and who want to stay, but it does discourage those who just want to use Flybe as a stepping stone, and in that light is possibly quite a smart move on the part of the company.
As far as your suspicions are concerned, well Flybe has good bits and bad bits: Great people, great training, and a very professional safety and operational culture. Also, once the effects of the recent pay deal are realized in a couple of years, it will have some of the best-paid turboprop pilots anywhere, along with relatively high percentage pension contributions. On the other hand even high turboprop pay doesn’t compare favorably to global average pilot salaries, and Flybe is mainly a turboprop operation with a small jet fleet (the ongoing existence of a jet fleet within the company is in any case probably not a dead certainty), and rostering, partly due to the pilot shortage, is pretty ‘bloody’ at the moment, with full timers averaging close to a 5 on 2 off pattern, which combined with increasingly long days is probably unsustainable in the long run.