Ex Ryanair pilot: "I know from bitter experience the truth behind Ryanair’s grounded flights."

[wimyvr]

"Unless Ryanair treats pilots like me better, this crisis will be a long haul."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -long-haul

[cncpc]

"Unless Ryanair treats pilots like me better, this crisis will be a long haul."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -long-haul

Well said, James.

[TFTMB heavy]

They also monitor fuel loads and "shame" the ones at bottom quarter of the list. Air Transat pilots do not DH on Ryan Air, we have it in writing.

[Rowdy]

My gramps always said 'You get what you pay for'.

Couldn't be more true.

[Jet Jockey]

Ryanair sure seems to be a nice outfit to work for.

[Victory]

Legacy carriers have it made right now because many of them have always paid their pilots well. They don't need to change their business model at all. LCC's are in big trouble since their entire concept relied on staff working for less. There are certain business models that will only work in times of labor surplus.

It will be interesting to see which Canadian companies cannot withstand the current climate because they are unwilling, or simply can't afford, to pay pilots to stick around. If they are going to raise salaries to get people to stay they need to do it soon. Once they are gone it's too late.

I'm very biased but if I was managing an aviation company I would be looking hard at cutting costs elsewhere and dumping that money into keeping your flight crews happy.

[Eric Janson]

Legacy carriers have it made right now because many of them have always paid their pilots well. They don't need to change their business model at all. LCC's are in big trouble since their entire concept relied on staff working for less. There are certain business models that will only work in times of labor surplus.

It's the other way round in Europe. Legacy carriers have all had to start LCC divisions to compete against carriers like easyJet.

easyJet pays its Pilots well - but they have to work for it.

LCC is not going away.

[complexintentions]

Correct. It is not only not going away, it is expanding into longhaul. When the price of admission is £120,000 and people are still clamouring to enter, it's not going away. Even Canada's original "LCC" is starting up a "ULCC".

I don't agree that legacy carriers "have it made". They're at a good point in the overall economic/demographic cycle, but that won't last.

The pilot quoted in the article states he was a captain at FR for eight years. He would have paid for his training, had an accelerated command, and as a result has the qualifications to work in China for serious money. (Whether or not this career path appeals or not to everyone is irrelevant. The fact that it exists will always attract a lot of people).

But it's kind of funny to hear him advocating for change for the system at Ryanair, when he clearly benefitted from it.

Ryanair has in place a sophisticated “cadet programme”, where it takes new pilots who have passed all their theory exams and have just a couple of hundred hours’ experience in simulators and light aircraft. At their own expense, they are quickly trained to be Boeing 737 co-pilots. In four years’ time, they will upgrade to captain or their contract will not renew. While this programme offers a bright future to many young people wishing to jump-start a flying career, the brightness of that future is dimming now, as other airlines in Europe are forced by competitive realities to emulate Ryanair’s employment terms.

In other words he is absolutely part of the reason the conditions now are poor.

The trend is your friend. Adapt or perish.

[TFTMB heavy]

Correct. It is not only not going away, it is expanding into longhaul. When the price of admission is £120,000 and people are still clamouring to enter, it's not going away. Even Canada's original "LCC" is starting up a "ULCC".

I don't agree that legacy carriers "have it made". They're at a good point in the overall economic/demographic cycle, but that won't last.

The pilot quoted in the article states he was a captain at FR for eight years. He would have paid for his training, had an accelerated command, and as a result has the qualifications to work in China for serious money. (Whether or not this career path appeals or not to everyone is irrelevant. The fact that it exists will always attract a lot of people).

But it's kind of funny to hear him advocating for change for the system at Ryanair, when he clearly benefitted from it.

Ryanair has in place a sophisticated “cadet programme”, where it takes new pilots who have passed all their theory exams and have just a couple of hundred hours’ experience in simulators and light aircraft. At their own expense, they are quickly trained to be Boeing 737 co-pilots. In four years’ time, they will upgrade to captain or their contract will not renew. While this programme offers a bright future to many young people wishing to jump-start a flying career, the brightness of that future is dimming now, as other airlines in Europe are forced by competitive realities to emulate Ryanair’s employment terms.

In other words he is absolutely part of the reason the conditions now are poor.

The trend is your friend. Adapt or perish.

I missed the part where he said he was in their cadet program?