I don't think there's much of a difference at all between a 500 hr GIA pilot and a 1500 hr CFI. Neither have a flown a jet and neither have much experience dealing with bad weather, mechanicals, etc... Now, I do agree that a 1500 hour pilot that's been flying freight in the NE in icing conditions in old Barons is probably a MUCH better pilot than either a CFI or a GIA grad.
Much agreed here for the freight guys. However, take a 500 hour GIA guy, been flying in a 1900 in Sunny Florida with an ex Eastern scab in the left seat, no IFR, no nothing, for a measly 250 hours. (Probably about 3 months). Not to mention the fact that they're PAYING to work there. Then you take your 1500 hour CFI, Who's been teaching for about 1200 hours, flying with people that don't know what they're doing, sometimes in actual IMC, teaching and practicing every single day IFR procedures, single engine procedures. By the time I had 1300 hours, (right about when I got my first jet job,) I had lost more than one engine, shot quite a few approaches down to mins in actual, had an instrument student almost turn an airplane upside down on me in actual, flew a freaking 182 about 700 miles IFR from Little Rock, AR to Phoenix, AZ in bad weather and mountainous terrain, and seen student pilots and non-student pilots do more dumb things than I can shake a stick at. (Don't even get me started on dumba$$ things aircraft salesmen tell private pilots that believe them.) Depending upon where you teach, CFIing teaches more to the instructor than the student. I know it did me, and I'll say to the day I die that it made me a helluva lot better pilot than a 500 hour GIA guy.
The FAA and NTSB are on the company's a$$ because of the 2 accidents to hire more high-time pilots. Were the accidents the fault of low time pilots? Absolutely not. Jesse (the captain of flt 3701) had 5000 hrs and 2 type ratings. Not exactly low time. The captain of the MKE flt wasn't even a GIA pilot, let alone low time. Of course, none of this matters to the FAA. Their knee-jerk reaction is to demand higher time pilots. Whatever they say, but it won't fix the many problems that this airline has when it comes to safety.
This is precisely what my friend working there told me. And the bad thing is, with no pay during training, and no hotel during training, they can't get any high time pilots to come work for them. Now they're screwed because since the company requires 3000 hours to upgrade, all these 500 hour wonders that they've been hiring don't have enough time.....result: street captains. Nothing but bad management. There is a reason that corporate insurance companies won't insure copilots without about 2000 hours and some jet time. Because NOTHING equals experience. You don't get it pulling gear in a 1900 in sunny Florida for 250 hours while the ink is still wet on your commercial ticket. You might make it through training, but you're still not READY. Training is still training, and anyone can pass a checkride if you give them enough chances. Not to fly a 50 seat , $30 million dollar jet into the busiest airports in the country in bad weather. How many times do you fly a perfect approach profile in real life? Rarely. Every time it's "we need 210 to the outer marker," or slow to your final approach speed 15 miles out, you're #10 for landing."
The MKE accident was the result of many bad command decisions from what I've heard. Whether the FO was a 500 hr GIA pilot or a 1500 hr CFI would have made no difference. I don't want to get into the details of the accident that I've heard, but suffice it to say that the FO had nothing to do with it.
