[QUOTE Reducing costs doesn't mean training has been diminished, that pilot capability has been diminished, and most critically, that pilot performance is less.
][/QUOTE]
Depends on one's personal experiences in this area. I know of one instance where a pilot failed his recurrent proficiency test in the simulator. The check pilot then ticked all the boxes and gave the pilot a pass reasoning it would be difficult due cost cutting to arrange for more training for this pilot. I wonder how many more failures are given the benefit of this thinking because the check pilots know that extra training will cause gritted teeth further up the management line because of financial costs of arranging more sim time.