Originally Posted by
Jetjok
However, as we know, guys in the training department suffer from a real lack of creditability. Maybe this will eliminate that, by allowing (or forcing) these guys to actually fly the line with the rest of us. Personally I always had trouble accepting criticism about my VOR approach into SFS from someone who had never even been there. Or flown 3 or 4 legs a night for a week, or flew into a max-crosswind, or, or, well, you get the picture.
Creditability is a tough thing to define. Is it the sum of your experience and performance over a career, or is it better defined as "what have you done for me lately", which is more like a "use it or lose it" philosophy.
Before becoming a A300 flex I spent 5 years as a junior B727 Captain and 3 years as a junior A300 Captain. Everyone knows that the toughest trips are flown by the most junior crews, so I had many opportunities to fly to the "Greats" and the "Grands" in the wintertime, to TLC and other garden spots more times than I care to remember, and into many bad weather situations because some knucklehead felt sick after looking at Intellicast.
Now Jetjok, I can only assume that your seniority places you pretty near the top on the S/O bidpack. I'm sure that this seniority allows you to pick and choose the easiest trips to the nicest parts of the country having the best probability of great weather. Is your creditability slipping away? Likewise, do I have to bump only death marches to keep my street-cred? I submit to you that your past performance over a career in aviation guarantees your creditability until your present performance dictates otherwise. If not then a lot of senior people better start looking at the last page in the bidpack because their professional reputations are slowly but surely going to hell.