Originally Posted by
rudestuff
It's absurd that you can have two people flying an identical aircraft on the same day from LHR to JFK yet one requires a CAA licence and one an FAA certificate, simply because of where the aircraft is registered.
Actually it is not. You could be operating said aircraft in a totally different environment. For example, operating an A320 in Europe with almost total radar coverage and in controlled airspace is completely different to operating the A320 in Australia with CTAFs, operating in the open FIR (not in controlled airspace), extreme weather variations on any given day, or operating the same aircraft in Asia.
If you are going to base yourself with a local carrier based overseas from where you are, then it’s essential to at least sit a series of conversion exams and a skills test. Maybe not the full 15 exams, but enough to make you competent in your new area of operation