Summary of thread so far:
SNS3Guppy and others make some solid arguments which are hard to argue with (especially if you don’t want to be ridiculed).
So for the sake of argument, let us accept the points that he is making:
1) Airmanship is irrelevant and following CRM and SOP’s is enough to avert disasters.
2) Training is enough to bring even novices up to acceptable FO standard, prior GA experience is irrelevant.
3) Those who cant make the grade will be cut by those airlines which maintain a high standard.
On the other hand we must also consider the consequences of this line of thinking. It is indisputable that cost control is a strong force acting on management and the current trend has been to cut T&C’s in order to generate maximum profits in what is after all a cut throat industry.
The trend of pay to fly line training, where candidates use money to jump the queue and gain experience in the RHS may therefore result in the following outcomes in SOME airlines (not necessarily Guppys airline which seems to be beyond reproach):
1) The candidates which should have been culled out due to lack of ability instead remain in the RHS till the completion of their line training hours due to the profit motivation of management (and maybe beyond if they are prepared to accept even lower T & C's).
2) Once T&C’s has been cut to the bone then the next facet of cost cutting might become the training itself.
3) Conceivably this cost cutting could eventually extend to the LHS where Captains who are highly renumerated are replaced by the promotion of someone who will cost less (for as Guppy said, all that is required is training and adherance to SOP's, experience counts for nothing so why should airlines pay for it?)