Back to the right seat
There seems to be a great reluctance in CX (both pilots & management) to the concept of a captain going back to being an FO.
Maybe it's because of our "common jet salary", but if you look at airlines in Europe where the pay scales are different for different fleets, the salary for a narrow-body captain can be less than a wide-body FO, so it's a normal situation for a more senior person to take the FO slot. Then when the narrow-body captain has enough seniority, he can become a wide-body FO.
So, why the angst in CX about going back to FO?
Pride? - definitely, from both pilots & management
The command course? - definitely. After surviving that roller coaster, who would want to submit to another one? Command courses are a cost item, so management don't want anyone doing another one unnecessarily.
The checking system? - notice I said checking, not training. Why would anyone want to go back to being an FO under the current system? All it needs is some checker who's in a bad mood because of his pending divorce to screw the guy with a poison pen. Then what? Sorry, you were a captain, but now because you're not a good FO, we won't make you a captain again
Why isn't there a structure or agreement in place? The ex-based FRTR captains take their position in seniority. Those that return to being an FO shouldn't need to do a command course again once they achieve seniority, just a type conversion to the left seat of whichever fleet they go to (in seniority), the same as if they were converting as a captain from another fleet.
How hard can it be??
I'd like to hear from an actual FRTR captain that's been forced to return to HK without pax command seniority. Would you rather stay as a local-terms FRTR captain, or non-local terms as an FO for a few years until you have command seniority?