Originally Posted by
Semaphore Sam
2. The experience required to legitimately pass a PIC Type Rating ride for an ATP on a regional jet is usually much higher than the typical CFI flying 172s for 1500 hours has. This gap looks very wide...the training for this ride will take a factor of 1.5 to 2 times the standard training footprint, and may still not be enough, depending on the student. Typically the 250 hr co-pilot got experience watching from the rh seat...this valuable source of experience will be closed.
When the paying public buy a ticket that says "United" or "American" or "Delta" etc etc on it and then get on a regional jet painted in "United" or "American" or "Delta" colours, I think they have a legitimate expectation they should be flown by a
fully qualified crew not by a Captain some other guy/gal who is still learning his/her job.
You are right there is a big gap between what FO's are getting now and what they would need to pass a ATP ride and that is exactly where the problem is. I fail to see why doubling the training footprint to allow new hires to get to the required standard is in any way bad. One thing is for sure the airline bean counters consider pilot training a "cost" that must be minimized. The only way the bar is going to be raised is if the industry is forced by regulation to increase training. There is no way the airlines are going to do that on their own.