Originally Posted by
Skipname
The 200h cadets are part (a big part) of the problem in Ryanair and not for safety reasons. They accept this ridiculous terms and conditions offered to them by Ryanair because they want to get experience and then move on to a "better airline with better T&C".
What they don't realize is that by accepting this T&C they are enabling Ryanair to grow and dictate the T&C across Europe.
If the cadets keep accepting this
from Ryanair the "better airlines with better T&C" won't be around for much longer.
In my company (somewhere in the Eastern Europe, not a lo co company
we also hire 200h cadets, but we have a strong union so this has no effect on our t&c's. So the problem with FR are not cadets per se, but the lack of organised labour (and the free market zealots in the Brussels that look past the many questionable practices regarding taxes).
But looking at a broader picture (throughout the industry), if you base guys from France in Lithuania, without giving them a choice, this is going to became a safety issue somewhere along the line (virtually destroyed private/family life, fatigue due to commuting, which may in the end result in depression, alcoholism etc).
Airlines can always throw more money your way, but this doesn't really solve the problem. We often hear about pilot fatigue in the media, but this simple problem (ie that you have no/very limited choice about the location of your base) is almost never mentioned even though it is in a way the thing that encompasses many of the other issues. I know many guys who would gladly take a pay cut if they could work an hour drive from their home.