Originally Posted by
The Professor
Can anyone explain why S/O's make sense?
I'm not sure, but I suspect that you mis-understand the role of the S/O - at least in QF.
They are included on QF long haul crews because the crew for that particular sector requires 3 or 4 pilots (Flight time duty limitations dictated by CASA). As an alternative to paying an additional F/O or two, QF employs Second Officers at a lower rate of pay - they have lower licencing requirements. Effectively, they are "cruise F/Os".
So for the airline, S/O pilots make sense - the airline gets the required pilot numbers at a lower pay rate. When they need additional F/Os, then they train / licence the required number of S/Os and only then need to pay the higher pay rate.
Hope this helps ..
N