NO.

We have "check the box" syndrome at UAL. Our entire training experience is "check the box."

The whole thing is scripted to get across a particular message. The facilitators want you to "discuss" the issues that they bring up. However, they are quick to shut down discussion that does not fit with their script.

The entire emphasis on the class is meant to encourage professional behaviors, enforce proper SOP adhearance, and open discussion (debrief) to drive flight operations into a safer place.

That's cool.

What's not cool is two junior FO's who haven't walked the walk and who are just talking the talk.

So, from your perspective, it doesn't matter who relays the message, as long as the message got relayed. Why not have Greg Hart and Howard Attarian shoot a video and just have us watch a "mock" LEAP class. They would do a fine job right? No, because they can't spell PBS, they can't discuss BOG ops, they can't speak to the issues, the distractions, the operational considerations that go into decision making and flying the line. And, they don't have a depth and breadth of knowledge to speak to the various levels of experience and perspective that make up not only this pilot group, but all within the profession.

So, I ask you. Is it just "relay a message via a canned script", or is about fostering open dialogue with someone who has been there and done that and who can speak to the issues? How about a senior Captain who has flown 4 or 5 different fleet types and has been a Captain for the airline for 20 years? What's wrong with that? That would certainly add credibility to the program and better represent what LEAP should be about.

The reason a Senior Captain got to be a senior Captain is partly because he/she figured out how to do the stuff that LEAP represents and embodies what the profession is all about. I've flown with Captains that wrote the script on LEAP 24 plus years ago. Those guys and gals are out there and they do great with Gen X, Y, Z, and A, B, C.

Today and tomorrow there will be a senior Captain mentoring some new hire FO's on the line. If it's good enough for the line, then why not the classroom?

We have FO's doing most of our training. Most can't answer the questions posed to them during the training. I find it "canned." I would limit the FO's in the training roles due to lack of experience. One FO in the LEAP class would be fine. We do it on the line that way, we have one FO and one CA on the trip, why not in this classroom? I think its the same reason we do it in the training department: costs. It's cheaper right? That's the answer I get from training when asked why so many FO's involved.