Yes, maybe long haul flying is easier than bombing round Europe in ****ty weather on 4 sector days. Sitting on the flight deck for 6 hours then another 6 hours in the bunk is great...... when everythings going okay.
Look, there will always be guys who are sharp cookies who will learn quickly. In fact, there's a good chance they may be quicker at adapting than older F/O's who've never had a command and are mid forties or later.
And whilst I agree that command is a mind set, it's always going to be based on experience and what you did with that experience. 20,000 hours is useless if you never learn. So, whilst we should all apply good CRM and use of resources, over relying on your F/O in time of crisis due to lack of experience is far from ideal.
For an airline of Emirates supposed calibre and standards, we should not be in a situation where we're even discussing these issues.
Harry