For those of you waiting for your Mainline command, is this not an opportunity?
JC is taking direct entry commands at the moment, they simply don’t have the requirements amongst their FO ranks.
Why not push JC pilots onto the the bottom of the seniority list,no bidding in or out unless.....if the requirements for DEC are met then instead of it going to Jo Public, mainline FO’s apply through seniority. I imagine there would be plenty of FO’s with no kids or pre school aged kids who would pop over the dutch for a couple of years until their number came up for a home town command. That way the problem ( JC slowing progression for mainline pilots) will slowly disappear rather than fester and potentially get worse. In addition, the company can run the JC pilots domestically once they touch down in Sydney and have locked in 50 Captains overnight.
Over the next decade crewing the left hand seat of jets is most likely going to be expensive for Airlines worldwide. Holding onto LHS experience at the start of this ‘experience shortage’ would be a wise tactical move.
The alternative sees the continuation of high turnover and training costs on the Tasman, or, greater stress on the already stressed resource of Mainline SH crew hours.