I think we are missing the point entirely with the Wolfpack.

It use to annoy me that the same guys were getting the sweetest trips. Now, it doesn't bother me much (because I can't control it) but when I consider the actual makeup of these trips, it gives me great concern. What makes these trips attractive? Everything. First class DDH international, Front end or Back end DHs, days of hotel stby, long layovers and limited operational legs to name a few. I don't have any problem with anyone sitting in first class etc... but I do have a problem with the chronic avoidance of actual stick and rudder time. Many, if not most, of these charter flights occur on the MD11, an airplane that has a history of landing mishaps/tailstrikes/incidents here and at other places too.

I'm sure if you check these guys' calendars, you'd find a typical pattern of the clearing of the monthly schedule at OT release and then the obsession beginning with swooping in on the choice trips. I know there were discussions about how the same population of pilots were able to snag these trips through less than honorable means be it special trading software or insider help. I'll give them all the benefit of the doubt and acknowledge that they were investigated and cleared by management but that doesn't really solve the problem I have with this issue.

There's a world of difference between being current and proficient. The MD11 has the knack of shining a bright light on whether you're the former or the latter. Just a couple of weeks away and the jet and the operation remind you that you're not perfect and that proficiency is a pursuit rather than an end. With that in mind, I find it hard to believe, especially in the case of first officers who can't predict which landings they'll get, that real proficiency isn't compromised by stringing months upon months of these choice trips together. Again, I don't have a problem with a good deal and if you want to sit in front of a computer all day or salivate at the sound of three dings while strapped to your cell phone constantly, more power to you, have at it, knock yourself out, etc... but that's not for me.
I've heard other pilots lament about how we have career RFOs that rarely fly in the front seats for takeoff and landing and how they sometimes ask the front seaters to give them one of their landings. I have the same issue with that group too--chronic avoiders of stick and rudder time. If a pilot doesn't want to or is afraid to touch MD11 controls much, he/she could RFO on a more forgiving airplane. I hear the triple is an awesome jet that has fantastic landing characteristics and sports a great bunk. The problem is that most of the charter trips are booked on the MD. To be sure, there are definite scheduling benefits, flexibility being one of them, to flying the MD11 vs the 777's bid pack that are well known but this group known as the Wolfpack appears to be greedy. They want the choice trips, with the fewest landings, with the most flexibility and the highest probability of PMU which fuels the whole thing, apparently.

To add insult to injury, I'm aware of a particular wolf pup that if he's been slurping from the charter trough and gets low on landings, he'll put couple of back to back (afternoon hub turns, if you can believe it) domestic trips on his schedule to keep his 3x3 currency followed by the next landing currency event at the 6 or 12 month training cycle. Is this someone you want to stake our company's future or your tickets on? I think not. This guy and anyone like him doesn't give a flying flahoop about anyone but themselves. If they cared about the rest of us or the company, they would do things differently --prioritizing proficiency and duty to others above their own desire to constantly feed at the charter trough.
Our top executive cares enough about us, the other employees and the company's survival enough to funnel considerable resources toward having our excellent men and women in MD11 training create stellar MD training modules dedicated to 50' and below. Speaks volumes doesn't it? It does to me, anyway. The stakes are high.
Who cares? I do. At the very least, we owe it each other to, among other things, be proficient. Stuff happens, I know, but if the overarching theme of your professional life is sharpshooting your schedule so as to avoid operational legs causing your skills to diminish, you're a threat. Have the class to not to ask for a landing, even if it's CAVU/winds calm and then go try your luck with a check airman in the sim for your landing proficiency. Should you ask for a landing, I'll respond in the negative. Should be no problem since you're the ace of the base...