Originally Posted by
dustyflightdeck
so you disagree that a turbo prop FO who upgrades after 3 years at EK is not experienced? Not sure if the paying pax would agree with you!!
I don’t think the paying pax will know any better to be honest. When is the last time you heard pax complaining ‘the pilots aren’t experienced enough!’ Except for some obvious pilot errors (Air Asia/Lion Air) I don’t think most people would know the difference.
Anyway my point is, just because a former TP driver only has 3-4 years on a jet doesn’t mean their prior experience doesn’t count as well. I’ll ask you this question: what is the difference between a TP driver and a former Ryanair/Easyjet etc F/O that joined EK with 3000 hours?
Every single upgrade sim support I’ve done in the last year was with these type of guys/girls. No former command time, all joined as F/O’s coming off a 737/757/767/A320. Nothing wrong with them!
The vast majority of former TP drivers I’ve meet had prior commands, some had Check/Training experience. Hours vary from 4000-17000 hours.
I would argue the attitude and personal attributes of these guys will set them up for a command just as well as anyone else currently upgrading. If you are willing to put the work in and learn about the EK route structure/threats/WX variations/aircraft systems/etc, this is what will set you up better than just having ‘jet time’.