A320 in the spring. . .as we say in NZ, "yea right".
Air NZ is a great company to work for. The hiring process is done by the line pilots (three days worth) so we have ended up with a very good grade of driver. I haven't been with the company long but have found it to be very easy to work for/with.
I imagine we'd be seeing redundancies before we hire again, but that would only be for a short period if at all. They have been offering LWOP, but should be back up to hiring in 2008, hopefully sooner but with the age 60 thing, and a bunch of over sixties in the right seat of Daddies Yacht waiting to back to the left it could be a while before there is any movement. That said, my understanding is that we have less than 30 guys and gals waiting on yes letters and they'll be sucked up pretty quick once the hiring does start again. . .I think. Speculation is my thing as you can see.
By the by, permanent residence, not citizenship is the requirment for employment. As an aside, Air Nelson is hiring for the Saab 340, with movement onto the Dash-8 about six months, or so my friends there have been told.
Great job, great bunch of people to work with so well worth the drama and wait. If I can help let me know.