"Captain knows everything"
@Roy Hudd - I agree. Except that the problem is exacerbated (my estimate - very greatly) if the captain owes his direct entry to the left hand seat in a big jet to his previous senior rank in the air force, where for many years he was in a desk job. In countries where the military has considerable power and senior officers can demand jobs from the airlines (I saw this first-hand), then the authority gradient on the flight deck is just one problem of several (the others include lack of knowledge and ability). I don't think Swissair and Alitalia had this type of difficulty.
Last edited by Muchheavierthanair; 25th Sep 2012 at 03:28.