I flew with a Malaysian captain who took the British style ATPL exams over 30 years ago and I was shocked at the type of exhaustive syllabus he had to undergo. When I asked if any of those stuff was of any relevance, he replied very relevant if you were flying in the 50's and 60's; not much use if you are a modern day airline pilot flying modern aircrafts. However he cautioned that it is an ATPL, air transport pilot license, a license for airline transport pilots NOT NECESSARILY only air carriers. He said that there are air transport pilots working in some remote areas of the world with outdated equipments where the knowledge garnered from the ATPL syllabus will prove most helpful. So, modern airline pilots, don't be close minded and think only of your big shiny jets. There are still many old aircrafts hauling freight and people in remote corners where the ATPL pilot really use those stuff learnt. It is still AIR TRANSPORT!