Worrying trend in European Aviation

[triplespool]

Some of my thoughts regarding the explosion of buying your own type rating with some hours on type. The present position today is there is only just enough captains in the narrow body sector. If the trend continues of training F/O’s and putting a nominal amount of hours in their log book and then releasing them into the market, with only little or no hope of permanent employment. Do this enough times and the result is less and less F/O’s building the few thousand hours required for the left seat. This situation helps no one in the end, the airlines when they cannot find suitable Captain candidates, so will they drop their standards? The hundreds and hundreds of F/O’s with little or no experience who cannot find work because some Airlines are filling a ‘niche’ in the market and subsidising their operation. Other Airlines will follow this as time goes by.
I invite comments from individuals and Airline alike.
T

[B737NG]

My question is: Why did you made the pilot licence in the first place? Did somebody forced you to do that? Please don`t get that wrong, I just want a honest answer and then I give you a comment from the Cockpit view and the Management view of an Airline with more then 110 all Jet-Aircraft operation.

NG

[triplespool]

No one forced me into anything, I just wanted to be a pilot as long as I can remember, maybe 5 or 6. I just love things that fly and the love of flying cannot be described (not in the anorak sort of way), it is just in the blood.
T

[B737NG]

Thanks for being honest. I DO NOT like flying..... I LOVE IT !. That is one of the answers I give if people ask me if I like my job. The same as You it is in the genes. My father was very aviation minded and as a wounding consequence of WWII he could not get a medical. He died 1961 and I became pilot later in my life. I had no intention about it first but it came thru later and family members told me about it. I agree with you that some people just make a licence to have a job and look for the pay they see. Those are the frustrated once in the industrie who do not even like what they do. But others, us included, would give a lot to make the licence and look for a job. After turned down on interviews because of "no expirence" what option do you have then?. Buy hours, go flying and pay for it. And then apply apply apply and one day it matches. There are people out in the world who make theire living from desperates who want to fly and take the best they have, the money. They are not interested if the customer gets a job they want to slice theire part off the cake. That is all. Others keep regular contacts with theire customers and train them only into a position what is available, they are rare, as the jobs are rare. There is a market for both the fair ones and the black sheeps working close to grey zones.
If You like to have a closer insight view write me a PM and I e-mail you.

Good luck and happy landings

NG

[Coastrider26]

Well here's my personal point of view:

Everybody needs a chance but does this have to be on a JET?!?

I did my training and some line flying in the Netherlands and the people in the KLM Flight Acadamy, NLS and most of the other schools have been told from day 1 theý'll be hired on a JET!!

<IMHO> There is no subsitute to some good Turboprop experience in an airline environment before moving to a jet.

Well here's my personal point of view:

Everybody needs a chance but does this have to be on a JET?!?

I did my training and some line flying in the Netherlands and the people in the KLM Flight Acadamy, NLS and most of the other schools have been told from day 1 theý'll be hired on a JET!!

<IMHO> There is no subsitute to some good Turboprop experience in an airline environment before moving to a jet.

Ofcourse there will always be exceptions to this but I think that it is a good stepping stone for most people.

[ebbr2]

That's all very nice and I agree it doesn't have to be on a jet.
BUT, that's rather difficult living in a part of the world where turboprops are rather an occasional sight. In this part of the world, turboprop operators are rather non existent except for a few. If you find one and if they want to hire you, they'll charge you a training bond equal to a very heavy jet.
So tell me honest, why bother... market has never been so bad as today but it will pick up soon.
When those days come, these oprators will have to offer you a very heavy jet salary to fly their aircraft.

And to my personal opinion!! If somebody starts flying a jet soon after flight school like it is the habit in Europe, that experience is at least as valuable then flying turboporps because this jet flying will become his second nature.

People dont't need 5000 hours to pass over to a jet like it is the habbit in some parts of the world. This procedure is usually very much promoted by people who live in these parts of the world.
It is the individual himself who is responsible for his performance.