Originally Posted by
FrequentFly3r
This hits the nail on the head. I've got nothing again young people, middle aged people, older people, or anyone in between coming to work here for the right reasons. It's a personal choice; We're adults and can make our own decisions.
However, I've got a huge problem with people of any age looking at this job as a hobby. If you're bored and need something to do then go join a flying club, go buy a type rating "for fun", or be a CFI on the side. Hobbyists coming here to fly just for fun regardless of the pay undermine our position as professional pilots, take away leverage for a better contract, and, quite honestly, can be a safety issue.
We're hiring guys who haven't flown in 15-20 years, who have never flown or been trained on turbine airplanes/operations, who have no formal aviation training, who have 1500 hours flying the pattern in a C150 at their local airport. Before you all rip me on this - I didn't say EVERYONE we hire falls into this category but some of the people we hire do and that should be a huge safety concern for everyone.
Agreeded. There are people with bills to pay. Fishing is a hobby not flying a 85,000 pound jet with 76 passengers in the back.
Sorry, I'm not impressed with someone who has 1,000 hours in their Bonanza. Sure they've been flying longer than me. But does that really make them a professional pilot? Again I'm not saying it's older pilots that fit into this criteria but typically that's the case.
Would you rather have a 50 year old with 1,000 hours in the last 20 years flying his cub in class G airspace or the 20 something year old with 3,000 hours in the last 4 years flying turbine aircraft in complex airspace, in hard IMC etc. Its all relative IMO.