Coagie:
...the airlines had many military trained pilots, who had to meet a high standard, both mentally and physically, to even begin their training, which was vigorous and thorough, especially in the basics of flying. Now, because of demand, and more military pilots staying in the military, instead of getting out to work for the airlines, we may not always get the quality of person, with the quality of training, that we used to get.
Interestingly, just today I heard the opposite point being made on a US network. Sequestration is cutting into mil. flying hours, causing enthusiastic pilots to look around for more flight time. At the same time, US carriers have their crew minimum hours raised from 250 to 1500 hours, thanks to Colgan etc.
Does truth lie somewhere in between?
