Originally Posted by
AerocatS2A
Rui Dias, I think the problem is that the more inexperience you have in the right seat, the more experience you need in the left seat. So there may be plenty of inexperienced guys available to fill the right seat and airlines may be happy to put them there. From the new FO's point of view there is no shortage as there are lots of other low time FOs competing for the same seats, but the same companies are scratching around for experienced captains.
In short, there is no contradiction. On the one hand new pilots still don't find it easy to get work while on the other hand older pilots are getting contacted out of the blue by head hunters. At the same time, the airlines are addressing the experience issue by putting low time pilots in the right seat but it takes time to build that experience and some of them need experience now, not in five years.
I totally agree. But I don't feel sorry for the airlines as this supposed crisis was created by them. Since I finished my training in 2009, the vast majority of airlines were and are treating young and inexperienced pilots worse than dog ****. That was one of the reasons I came to Australia, as I saw the possibility of building a decent career, despite being not as easier as I thought. But I will keep on going.