@ aerocadet
How come the MPL program chooses the A-320 or a B-737NG for the trainee's type rating?
Maybe the others in this forum can correct me if i am wrong but i see no safety or training issue with doing an MPL directed towards the bigger jets or the other narrow bodies. In theory, it should be possible to do that.
Choosing the A320 or the B737NG i think is more of an economics decision: the cost of doing base training TAGS on a B777 (as what another Asian airline was said to be contemplating) or an A340 would be prohibitive! Until the Civil Aviation Authorities allow the TAGS to be done on the simulators (not gonna happen in the near future, i guess), i think most MPL programs will be done using the narrow body jets.
then among the narrow bodies, it just comes down to which aircraft types being flown right now has the most number -- likely the A320 and B737NG.
My own question is this -- would the MPL make sense for the small regional and business jets? Or why not extend it to the increasingly popular turboprops like ATRs, Dorniers, Embraers, etc., for which most airlines take in low hour pilots anyway....