I am still wondering why any contract pilot would choose to fly the 350 though, but then again i only work so i can live,[/QUOTE]
Even though I should stay out of this 350 discussion as it does not affect me, here are a few reasons I can see why: you avoid four sectors in the overcrowded skies of Vietnam. You have practiced enough holding patterns, tired of dealing with mediocre Vietnamese ATC
and got fed up with switching airplanes in the middle of a busy flying day. You stay away from the "I just got released" 200 hour wonders who know all the level 1,2,3 numbers by heart, but don't remember one memory item of the Airbus (only God knows how 90% of them get "released" nowadays)
, you sit in a pub in Narita having your ego massaged by telling your mates from other airlines you are flying a brand new A350
, sit in a Paris cafe enjoying a nice cup of coffee and the "views", all while your A321 mates back in Vietnam are continuously getting harassed with schedule changes and calls out on their stand by days to either do a typhoon flight some "air aces" don't feel like operating or it's a Sunday morning and they have to cover "sick" calls. I do agree with ia1166 though, going to the 350 severely limits a contract pilot's options should there be a need to find a new job.