G’day Going Boeing. Doing a 737 course a few months after a 747 course would be daft in the extreme. I can’t see Dick ever saying yes to something like that. I suspect it was more that if ever Owen ceased being a 747 Tech pilot (or any other management role associated with the 747) that he would revert to being a 737 Captain. IE he wouldn’t be able to cease a management role and retain his slot on the 747. That is how I recall the discussion I had with the HOFO at the time. Again, what a waste of everyone’s time. When Owen ceases to be in management he’ll go to where his seniority permits him to go. Until then.....
I find the whole issue quite bemusing. I’ve said to a few people over the years when the subject has arisen that whether it’s five numbers or five hundred the principle is the same. A lot of people are OK with management pilots 5, 50, 70 or even 100 seniority numbers out of order, or when it’s occurring on a fleet with which they have little interest (the A330 or 767). But somehow this specific case raised (and obviously still raises) significant angst. It seems hilarious that it’s not the principle (given that it happened previously on the 767 and the A380, and has happened since on the A330 and 787) but that it was either the gap in seniority numbers or the fact that it was the 747. That Captain Weaver is living rent free in many pilots minds six years down the track from his appointment says a lot more about those pilots than it does about Owen.
Ironic too that some who criticise Captain Weaver are quite prepared to accept generous offers from him when he’s gone above and beyond on their behalf. Again, that says much more about those people than it does about Owen. That wouldn’t possibly apply to any critics on this thread. Would it Andrew?