Impulse will get 23 A320's with options for 20. Pilot group now 130 to become 210ish. Commands now 70ish to become 110ish. There will be a transitional phase of 717 & 320 operations placing further pressures. Commercial pressures will be significant too, as Jetstar a counter attack on Dixon's low cost nemesis Virgin Blue.
Your arguments more Devil's Advocate and a glass half empty.
The Cadet programme you allude to I am familar with as well. 200 hour local pilots and more a very slow and commercially unrealistic nationalisation programme. Jetstar needs Captains real quick. DE Captains mentioned indicates Impulse is already getting help.
A seemingly RHS slant on your sentiments. Sure, a 320 F/O can be done to an extent by a cadet. What about a Captain? How long does a 200 hour take to become a Commander? I have witnessed 9 years and with a 30% failure rate. This is not viable commercially for anything but Flag carriers- EXPERIENCE means something in the dynamics of the pilot market.
Ansett an impertinent reference. Zero DE's because a replacement and a pool of Captains to be trained. Jetstar doubling Impulse in size aswell as the above mentioned pressures.
Impulse will get good A320 training. But I am pushing the same level of training for seniority 130 onward. Solid ground course and sim. Not the Virgin Blue option and for a number of reasons- safety and what being so easliy replaced does to conditions.
Your mention of 777 reinforces my case point. 777 has not suffered the CFIT losses of Airbus. Obviously many reasons for this and lets not diverse. Airbus crashes every few years due some really strange reasons. 2000 was Gulf Air and the 330 near catastrophe very recent too.
Sheepishly, Airbus continues to modifiy software as a result of these events. As there are very real traps with the very different technology.
I think you are selling your experience short as the market demanding Airbus experience at the moment. A340 skipper can write a ticket anywhere and 320 F/O's are in demand in airlines that need pilots to upgrade quicker than your cadet programmes.
The glass is half full for Airbus pilots and I hope Impulse pilots help keep it that way.
Last edited by Gnadenburg; 8th Dec 2003 at 15:32.