Originally Posted by
UnbeatenPath
Nothing says the FO cant fly a live leg. I used to fly them sometimes if a CA really didn't feel like it. The main reason CAs fly the live legs is you generally trade duties each leg and the only way for you to log time on the empty legs is if you are actually flying the airplane.
Our company manuals say FOs can't fly program or charter legs under IFR as they don't complete the proper line checks to legally do so. Simple as that.
They can fly program legs VFR, I believe, but this isn't done often, and it's a bit awkward. Switching off each leg with captains flying occupied legs almost always means the SIC flies more anyway.
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