Our heartfelt condolences go out to you and your fellow Cactus pilots who knew Mike.
May he rest in peace.
Amen.
What a ridiculous world when you are qualified to fly the aircraft but not steer it on the ground. Good old USA again.
Don't know how this one is blamed on the U.S. (but it is indeed traditional here
).
Some overseas operators allow the FO to taxi, most do not, right?
Company policy is that only the captain taxis the jet. Most captains on the airbus, let the F/Os taxi. Everyone is typed in the plane, you have to demonstrate the ability to taxi.
Do you mean to say that the AA FM prohibits the FO from taxiing but the captains allow it anyway? Three decades ago that sort of thing was pretty common in the U.S. as in 'swap seats so we can give the FE a leg'. But in recent years I hardly see anything done other than playing video games and texting that isn't explicitly allowed while in the seat.
Back before the days of the U.S. P2 type ratings, some airlines that typed the FO would let you take most of the sim ride from the right seat, then hop in the left seat to taxi and do a reject to complete the requirements.
Why would a copilot assume the additional responsibility of routinely taxiing the aircraft if he/she is not being paid commensurately for that responsibility?
Similar arguments were made by some geniuses down at the union hall about not taking the type rating offer as an FO on domestic fleets. I flew international aircraft and the rating was supposedly required for crew augmentation although there were always a couple of FO's who couldn't pass the rating ride but somehow could pass the FO check.
If you ever hit the streets for BK furlough or strike, that extra type rating is nice to have in my opinion.
Anyway, in these days of heightened awareness of perceived income inequality, the other argument is made: why should captains make more money when the first officer is younger, better looking, smarter etc.? And the FO would already be bidding captain now if not for 9-11, age 65, RJ's, BK, CEO pay, the merger, etc., etc. etc...