pilot shortage

My information is that a number of current pilots have been offered 3 years leave without pay from QAN. I also hear that many junior First Officers are jumping ship to our Middle eastern friends who I believe are chasing 800 pilots over the next 2 years. That is just Emirites alone!

Now if a number of QAN pilots decide to leave and hedge their bets with Emirites, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways etc.... I think we will all find that they will not be coming back any time soon (once they have tasted overseas living, wages and tax conditions (not to mention private schooling for their kids.

What I am getting at is this, if QAN follow their flawed strategy and create a premium airline in Asia, they will been seen to be a company who is happy to burn the loyal workers in order to save a few bucks, and who then in their right mind, would go and fly for them in Asia???

I would suggest that this whole industrial dispute will do nothing for QAN or its shareholders but cost a lot of money, money that could have been better spent on revamping QAN mainline. Unless it is settled and soon, a lot of money will be lost, QAN's image will be shot and they will be seen as the Darth Vader of employers. No one in their right mind will work for them then so where will they get the pilots from, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam?????????

I predict that this issue will become a huge problem for QAN and if they lose their talent pool, it will limit any chance of future growth that QAN may be trying to achieve. The way they are going, sooner or later (within the next 5 years) they will be swallowed whole by another carrier. Great for Australia huh??Alan Joyce might then have a lot of angry people choosing Ireland as a holiday destination. Hope he has enough money to buy himself a castle with a draw bridge and a moat, he might need it!

Surfrat.