B727Driver
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2004
- Posts
- 273
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Wrong again Tarzan. The loophole about reducing time towards the ATP will mean more of the same. Although I do agree it's a move in the right direction. No more 251 hour wonders in the flight deck. They need to be gaining experience in aircraft they are "fit" to operate. Not increasing the workload of the PIC.First and largest nail in the coffin for the Regional airlines. Once retirements begin again, the bottom feeders are fooked. Maybe things will change before they all disappear costs for contract carriers will probably become high enough for the flying to go back to mainline. Less seats, less jobs, but better pay.
The "academic training hours" is the loophole for ERAU, Gulfstream, Comair and the rest. These training hours will have to be in an FAA approved school, in other words, same ol' same ol' + Govt b.s.
This is the sentence that concerns me the most...
Enables the FAA to consider allowing certain academic training hours that may increase the level of safety above the minimum requirements to be counted towards the 1,500-hour ATP certificate requirement.
If the ATP requirement sticks, I think the days of $20K/year regional pilot F/O's will be over on the next up cycle, and maybe permanently after that. I'll eat my words about there not being anything resembling a pilot shortage in the next several years in that case. However, if the sentence above allows the Regionals to reduce that 1,500 hr. ATP requirement by a significant amount (say half), it may just turn out to be more of the same.
I guess we'll see what the Senate has to say....
This is not about Mainline pilots vs Regional pilots. This is about moving one step closer to being paid and treated as profesionals. The endless stream of inexperienced (200 hr) pilots must end.
The only thing this does is require instructors and students to devote more time teaching to meet the 1500hr min. The standards that need to be in place are 1500-2500 hr TT, 500 PIC Turbine Multi and an ATP certificate. To gain this kind of experience requires a pre-airline career beyond just instruction thus requiring airlines to raise minimum incentives (pay) to recruit higher experienced pilots. This new proposal in the bill will have means to circumnavigate and continue streamlined routes to the airlines with minimal experience. Don't look for much to change in the way of compensation.