Greener pastures

Once upon a time when I was a lad, an Australian airline job was a job for life. Sadly there are no longer such guarantees with airlines anywhere in the world it would seem. Consequently, pilots of all standings will thumb through the back pages of Flight International or The Australian on Friday to see if the grass is actually greener.

Airline placement agencies such as PARC Aviation do a roaring trade and airlines are more than happy to place full page advertisements in their competitor’s backyard. The times have certainly changed and the global industry now employs a global workforce. Consequently, the airline industry has acquired a far more nomadic nature in recent decades than once was the case. Occasionally a small number would drift north from Australian shores to Hong Kong and Singapore, and that number grew further in the wake of 1989.