It is sort of like checking into a hotel and them running your credit card to pay for incidentals, or to guarantee the reservation. No money is actually being taken from you, but the hotel can recoup its costs in the event you cancel or run up a huge bill
Hilarious – let’s examine this inventive but flawed analogy;
A hotel reservation, completed guest registration and credit card details, forms a contract directly between you and the hotel. At any time during your stay you are dissatisfied with the hotel/services you have the right to complain to the manager. You also have consumer protection laws and rights via your use of a credit card. If a matter is not resolved you can check-out.
Is there a contract between the pilot and Norwegian? - Answer: No
If a pilot is dissatisfied with a roster, base reassignment, winter layoff, promised upgrade, is the victim of Norwegian’s promoted anonymous reports from a “colleague” or other unsavory matter, can that pilot complain to a Norwegian manager with protection from any adverse affect to their work circumstances and/or future with the company? – Answer: No
Can an indentured pilot ‘check-out’ from Norwegian? – Answer: Yes, it will cost 30,000.
Look at this from another angle – If conditions and treatment are so wonderful, why does Norwegian feel the need to indenture its pilots in the amount of 30K? Norwegian regularly announces it receives thousands of applications from pilots and its terms and conditions are on par with legacy airlines. Pilots at Norwegian have never had it so good (allegedly). If so, why do so many want to leave and would not recommend Norwegian?
http://www.dn.no/nyheter/naringsliv/...-nsker--slutte
A perfect example of 'Norwegian’s job promises versus Norwegian’s job reality' is evidenced in an interview with a Norwegian crew member on YouTube and his subsequent action. The crew member gives the distinct impression he has no use for a labor union nor their representation in his newly found Norwegian dream job:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT-HkZgO10Q
At 50 seconds the crew member states: “You definitely have a much more close relationship with your co-workers and your managers”. At 1.14 he talks about his last job where he was involved with union work. After a short time at Norwegian he believes unions should not oppose nor fear the “outsourcing” of crew members. At 1.50 he informs us, “We have the same benefits a lot of the airlines in the US have fought years to get, we have that from the start”. Most notably, at 2.15 he states:
“I want to tell them [labor community/unions] there’s nothing to worry about, but that’s something they’re going to find out for themselves”
Apparently, he found out for himself. After awakening to the realities and gross hypocrisy of the Norwegian regime he became active in the formation of the Norwegian Cabin Crew Association and is now their President! - Link:
http://cabinassociation.org/
Compare his comments in the YouTube video to his comments as NCCA President in the following press release. It’s hard to believe it’s the same person:
http://cabinassociation.org/wp-conte...ss-Release.pdf
“The US based cabin crew is the first work group in the Long Haul operation to unionize, but we won’t be the last. We are counting on our LGW and BKK based colleagues to step-up and unionize” - “……..with the current rate of turnover for pilots and cabin crew, they’re not geared toward success”
What happened to the 'dream job', close relationship with managers and no use for union representation?
I accept that pilots need jobs. I do not accept chumps defending Norwegian’s snake-oil and drinking Kjos Kool-Aid.