Originally Posted by Qotsaautopilot

I think the training program is garbage and always has been. Experienced folks generally figured out how to get through it. It's also why spirit used to highly descriminate against 135 applicants that were used to training as a customer.

Now we hire many 135 pilots many with no degree so their opportunities elsewhere are limited. We also now hire many low time rj FOs that have only been through 121 initial at a regional where you get many sims and spoon fed systems. I wish we did that here but we don't. The 7-10yr FO has no problem and has been around long enough to make it work. We are hiring guys that came from a piston and went to an rj for a year or less. Many of the current applicants not only struggle through training but are somewhat more challenging to fly with. Some not all. They struggle with decision making because they haven't had many of the experiences applicants several years ago came in with as prerequisites.

The other problem which has no reflection on how they do their job or get through training is that some are so young that they have no skin in the game financially. No family, no mortgage, no college fund, no life insurance. Saying dumb crap like YOLO. No concept of what a good professional living is. I know I didn't at 24.

Some of the young guys fly great but some have no business flying a jet with 200 people in the back.