Oakape,
Agree completely with your summary, I like Pilot Pete's world, but it is not the one in which most airlines dwell, where indeed the "parameters" most important to management when identifying the "chosen few" are not always what we would wish.
To add to the above, how about an airline where it was mentioned on new Capt's contracts that they agreed to be appointed as LTC within a specified time-scale assuming they "met the standard"
Urban myth ? maybe, maybe not.
Or another one, that appointed newly entered Capts as LTC as soon as they were in the door without even asking whether the individual wanted the "privilege", no extra pay offered of course.
Another factor to be considered is that in some airlines LTC's are always flown to the max, 100hrs/month on and on until the 900 is achieved. For many, their flying is exclusively on line training/line checks, so little opportunity for an easy day in the office. Some airlines with an "understanding" regulator have even been known to then use these burnt out souls to line-check for the next couple of months until they are back in hours and somehow get away with not counting it as flying hours
, depends how "flexible"
the regulator is. So, the guys most in need of being sharp and monitoring closely are often the most knackered of all.