scrogg, I agree with you, but If a pilot survive in a crash, I bet with you, he will turn his hat from pilot to student.
as a proof, you are not fully employed by an airline if you pay for your hours, and in this case, the CAA/ operator can be held responsible.
It is a concept hard to understand for a novice, but if you are sued by your passengers, you can say:" well guys, I am paying to fly, what do you expect?if you want fly with a good airline, why do not you fly with a company who do not hire students?if you have a problem with that, sue the CAA or the director of my "flight school" but not me, I have no income anyway, and I am fully in debt!!!"
all I can see: they have turned (with the help of the CAA)a company with multimillions $ aircraft to an flight school, with one captain and one student on board paying for his hours, and in the back 200-300 pax.
for me, this is totally illegal, and this kind of operation should be banned from our EU sky like the FAA did on their territory.
secondly, a copilot paying to log hours on a plane with PAX,does not act as a commercial pilot.Commercial license give the privilege to be paid.If you are not paid, you are acting as a privat pilot or as a student pilot and again this is not legal under CAA rules.
legally, you can not even log your hours!
Last edited by A320rider; 17th Dec 2005 at 16:10.