S76Heavy,
I think, that once you have 3000+ hours in a commercial jet type enviroment, it does not realy matter whether you fly 300 hrs a year or 500 hrs a year, or even 800 hrs a year.
If you fly 800 hrs/year on B747-400 long-range routes, you probably spend 300 hours either in the bunk or observer seat, giving you 500 hours actual operation. Consider average 7hrs level flight with A/P on, you have slightly over 70hrs stick time. Divide that by 2 (=pilots) and you get 35 hrs actual stick time. So out of 800 logged hours, you actually fly 35hrs yourself.
A B737 domestic pilot would have appx. 200 actual stick time assuming the same situation w/ 2 hr avg. sectors.
Yet, the B747 guy has to make many more operationally significant decisions than the B737 pilot, who probably has better manual flying skills of the two.
Bottom line is, that besides a special personality, this profession about the combination of good flying skills, combined with decision making skills which are based on experience. Depending on type of operation, one quality is more developed than the other.
The idea of ATPL license issue date as basis for seniority makes sense in my view and sounds like a good idea....
Last edited by Avius; 26th September 2002 at 15:00.