As a humble but regular member of the SLF community I am obviously interested in the competence of the people in the front seats. I am probably in a minority but safety and competence -at least perceived- are factors in choosing how I fly not just who is the cheapest.
I read the full article from the link and one thing that came across to me was the spread of idiotic 'management speak' into the flying side of aviation. Witness the words of the spokesperson for the aviation industry. He said
'I don't share these concerns. Airlines are tying to make training more efficient but are not compromising on safety. It is true that we have moved towards a more simulator-based system, but that is more like a real aeroplane and is not a saving on safety.'
So a simulator is more like a real aeroplane than what ??? errrr a real aeroplane??? The quote sounds good but is actually rubbish.
I suppose the real balance that has to be struck ,and I am sure it is not easy to assess this, is can the automatics fly a Heathrow SID through the maze of Inbound tracks and holding patterns more accurately than a pilot -an every day occurance- as opposed the the less likely scenario of a engine out approach to Aberdeen in heavy rain and a 30kt cross wind when the automatic features can't do a lot to help and traditional handling skills are critical.
PB