I never agreed with the removal of the sim ride.

1. It makes it an HR focused process and not a flight ops focused process.

2. It removes the pilot evaluator from the process at a very critical time. We want to have confidence in the applicant's ability to get into and out of the training program.

3. We really want to know how the applicant flies.


I do agree that airlines will need to get smarter on their hiring processes. What will drive that is prolonged IOE. If we have people not making it through IOE in a reasonable time frame, or not coming off of probation due to lack of Captain endorsements then the airlines will have to get smarter.


For me personally, I really am glad I had to cut my teeth flying 135 charter and commuters/regionals before getting hired. The weather experience and the judgement I gained from that was very valuable. I don't look at it as numbers in a log book. I look at it is opportunities to make decisions, decide on an outcome, execute a plan, and learn from it. Hours in a logbook in a static/controlled environment don't mean much to me. If it were my airline, I would look at a logbook, engage in conversation to make sure the logbook matches the experience presented and then figure out what he/she learned along the way that they feel was beneficial to them, and then fly the simulator to see if it all matches up.

I guess you can say. More flight ops, and less HR.