Originally Posted by
sqwkvfr
I really don't understand why so many of you are getting in a twist about this.
All of us slugging it out in the regionals know that the average experience level is much higher than being reported by some of these media outlets. Hell, when the Asiana SFO crash happened, the captain that I was working with and I had nearly twice the combined experience of the THREE pilots on that triple.
The political reality is that the RAA is lobbying hard for a repeal of the 1500 hour rule and a new quick path to the right seat; two things that will quickly stop the current push to increase pay and work rules.
If articles like this help to eliminate the political will to reduce training and aeronautical experience requirements and, by extension, making current 121 pilots more valuable, what do we care?
Because airline pilots are still one of the most truisted professions in the US. When you have one using hyperbole and half truths to try and scare the public into giving us more money, we all come across as money hungry unions and not professionals deserving better wages for the responsibilty. If anything, telling people that even with the 1500 hour rule, there is enough inexperience in the cockpit that it could kill you will result in higher entrance barriers than already exist.