Originally Posted by
Cessnan1315efw
was talking to a check airmen yesterday in DC. He said he was up at ATW doing interviews last week and when he went to sign into the office the people who signed in before him were listed under the name "Mitsubishi Aircraft Company" not that this really means anything cause im sure Mitsubishi is running around to every regional in the business to support there product but they were there! Also management just hired 4 new permanent sim instructors who will be considered management. they will be based in CLT. all 4 guys are ex comair. getting some people with experience for possible 900 training??? :P. i seen one of them in DC in the crew room with a check airmen to do IOE. even though they are permanent sim instructors they still have to complete IOE as part of there training. also 10 new check airmen just hired.
Mitsubishi has been pushing hard with many carriers. It's an airplane that hasn't yet even completed it's first test flight and is a long, long way from an EIS date. I wouldn't read much at all into a visit to ATW by a Mitsubishi sales rep.
As to the check airman situation. No news. Practically everyone who gets hired out of AWAC has been a check airman. And the sim people? That I don't know much about but it's more likely a cost saving measure than anything else. AWAC sim instructors live a pretty cush situation with pretty good pay and I think the company is trying to get around some of the contractual language there. At least they're hiring experienced pilots to do it rather than some CFI who once rode in a CRJ and now knows more than a 10,000 hour CRJ pilot. Comair pilots are probably the most experienced CRJ pilots in the world as they operated it the longest of anyone.