Originally Posted by
PT6 Flyer
They get: pilots who have certain minimums (four-year degree, ATP, etc.) and I guess what we could call "closely-screened individuals" (pilots who passed the Hogan psychological test, have no bad references, have been observed by UAL for 1.5 years, and have 1.5 years of reports from the flight school regarding personality, work ethic, etc.)
But what we are all wondering is, do these things offset no 121 PIC time, no 121 time at all, no turboprop time, no jet time, no "large airplane time", no dual-pilot CRM time, etc. Time will tell.
The US is the only place where you need thousands of hours to get hired. Most European/Asian carriers hire pilots with substantially less time but from more structured programs. I have no doubt that anybody with a couple of hundred hours as an instructor, who goes through a major airline new hire program will be completely capable of being an effective first officer, and, in due course, captain.
Even the USAF puts low time pilots into giant transport planes without too much difficulty.