Jim said:
And specifically on Emirates,why WOULDN'T they hire hire direct entry Captains on 777s or any airplane IF they needed them? If you need pilots, why not hire them? Just to make someone sit in the right seat for XXX hours or XXX years seems foolish. I am sure those in the right seat want to upgrade when they can,but any company's management makes that decision.
Jim, I'm guessing you were with United or some other U.S. major. In any event a company with a relatively stable seniority system. How would you feel if your previous airline decided to hire direct entry 747 captains ? That wouldn't go over real well would it ?
A better example would be jetBlue, an airline that is expanding rapidly and has hired many low time - just out of the military - guys with no airline experience yet still upgraded them in just over a year with no known problems. Emirates has been hiring very experienced airline pilots with well over 5000 hours in most cases yet they aren't willing to give them a chance to upgrade before bringing in direct entry captains. Maybe that is what you meant by that middle sentence, it is foolish to make guys sit in the right seat for xxx hours or xxx years prior to an upgrade. A good training department would easily be able to take Emirates current F.O.s and turn them into good captains, even the ones who have only been at Emirates for a year or two.
Typhoonpilot