Originally Posted by
vagabond
Vagabond, as you know, I do not work for Alaska Airlines. I didn't even stay at a Holiday inn express last night.
Many Airlines have Specific "Captain's only landing" airports, or they have criteria when the Captain "must" make the landing. (High crosswinds, runway contamination, Low visibility etc). It is not that FO's are not qualified to do it, they are but the Captain, in most cases, has more experience and is the one who signs the Flight release and therefore is ultimately responsible for the saftey of flight.
The FO's gain experience acting as the PM (Pilot Monitoring) during these approaches and landings. They see how it is suppose to be done (or not in a few cases).
Again, I cannot speak with any authority for Alaska Air procedures, but To answer your question, I would guess that any new Captain at Alaska Air has a Check Airman ride with him or her when doing their first landing at these High Risk Airports or they practice the approach/landing in a Simulator.