@winemaker: it would appear that low cost airlines (or a number of them) do just enough training to get by the regulators' requirements. The difference between currency, and recency, and proficiency is lost on the profit driven philosophy of a low cost airline's management and ownership. So while your point on pitch and power certainly fits how I was trained to fly, how pilots are trained, kept current, and retain proficiency (across their entire area of responsibility) in the year 2018 is not a fixed value. It varies with corporate culture, among other things. There isn't a single standard ... and more's the pity.