If a company can't afford to properly train its pilots, then it doesn't need to have a jet...PERIOD.
Since there is not an airline in the country that is making money right now, it can be argued that they can't afford to train their pilots, so should they all just park their jets?
Nowhere in the Annals of Aviation is it written that an employer has to pay for your training. In any profession, it is right and reasonable to expect a professional to bear the expense of obtaining and maintaining their professional qualifications.
The reason airlines typically pay for their pilots' training is because they have too many pilots, airplanes, and airplane types to expect the free market to supply enough qualified pilots to satisfy their training needs. Even if the free market could satisfy that demand, the airlines must satisfy regulations mandating pilots complete FAA approved company training programs. Regional airlines are slightly different in that they typically only operate one or two aircraft types, but they still typically do not shift that cost to employees, although it may be more feasible to do so.
On the other hand, corporate operators may only have one or two aircraft and much less training requirements to satisfy. It is possible, and indeed likely, that they may go years without pilot attrition. In this case, it is perfectly reasonable to pass that cost along to the market place. It's no different than any other profession. If I have a need to hire a MCSE, I would expect that any applicant would bring that basic qualification with them. If they do not have it, I might still hire them, but since I now have to pay the training bill, it is going to be reflected in their salary in some way.
All that being said, any company who does what this one did is, in my opinion, operating under shady and questionable business practices, and ought to be avoided, if for no other reason than to send a message that people will not stand for such ethics.
And again, Southwest is NOT a pay for training company. They do not expect you to write a check to them or their training division when you walk in the door. They simply require a demonstration of your ability to pass their training program, hence the type rating requirement. How and where you get that rating is completely up to you. I bet there are a good portion of pilots who got their rating at the expense of another airline, or perhaps in the military. If you're not one of those people, then you have pay to obtain your professional qualifcations, which as I noted earlier, is right and reasonable.
and I was told it was all on my own dime and no option... So I do still have a job... Some words got messed up by the time it got back to me... They are paying for everything and im not... Thanks for all your advice... I will be sure to keep everything in mind... Your a great group of people and I really appreciate the huge responses and the advice!!!!!! :crazy:
