Originally Posted by
A37575
Regardless of the experience level of the first officer in question, as a fare paying passenger I am shocked that any airline would have an inexperienced pilot as second in command. Is the First Mate on an ocean liner "inexperienced?" I very much doubt it. Is the Second in Command of HM warships "inexperienced?" No way. So why are airlines employing inexperienced pilots on the flight deck of a jet airliner. I would have thought there would be higher insurance premiums as a penalty?
Surely the travelling public is entitled to ask why inexperienced pilots are allowed to be first officers. And surely there are enough highly qualified experienced pilots in the airline industry to be available for jobs as first officers.
Well my friend - wake up and smell the coffee. Everybody is inexperienced at some point even the First Mate of an ocean liner. Besides this is apples and carrots you're comparing - there are probably more B737 in the world alone than there are ocean liners.
Without even getting in to the discussion on whether a well trained though inexperienced ab-initio FO could be better than a experienced not so well trained FO, you as a paying customer get what you are paying for. If you want to be absolutely sure you only have experienced people sitting up front, you have just limited yourself to legacy carriers longhaul .
That beeing said, nothing is perfect in this world. The next time you call an electrician do you want an inexperienced local, or a highly experienced guy from somewhere far away where the training standards might not be what you would expect ??
Rgds.