Originally Posted by
A320LGW
Dont know about training standards down under but in Europe 200hrs is the point to advance onto turboprops/medium range jets. All works well here and I had no issues starting in an airline at that 'experience' level. I actually had 160TT when I flew my first passengers in a turboprop.
Anyway I agree the shortage is a scam the world over. I hate reading it and wish it could somehow be classed as false advertising and made illegal. A hiring boom is NOT a shortage. I have heard anecdotally that the US did actually have a shortage around 3 years back, though I don't know of any shortage to have occurred in Europe at least!
The reason we don’t generally have low hour pilots going into the right seat in Australia is not because we think they aren’t capable of it, but we don’t have to do it. There’s a GA industry here that forms the basis of a lot of careers and provides that initial experience that then flows up the industry.
I know the argument about “what relevance does flying a 210 have with flying an A320”, and yes there’s not a lot of relevance in some ways. But I’ve flown with F/O’s with both backgrounds, and it’s beyond the SOP’s where the one with more experience will prove their worth. Problem solving, lateral thinking, workload management, just a few things that come with an experienced pilot.
While there’s hundreds of highly experienced pilots driving buses, there will be very little need to put low time pilots in the right seat in Australia