Originally Posted by
zippinbye
When I checked out on the 747-200, every captain in the IQ class was a first time upgrade, having rotated counterclockwise from the FE panel. It took 15 years at that time. Mind you, some of those guys had been 141 and KC-10 commanders previously. FE to any flying seat was known to have its challenges back in the day, but most made it through okay. Of course it was getting the instrument scan back that took some time, but captain decision making skills were not a problem. The captains I worked with were rock-solid, and it was likely a much safer trajectory flying an aircraft and theaters they already knew inside and out, compared to being dropped into RJ-style flying.
So I'm not sure what the obvious flaw would be in being hired into the 350 and hanging out for upgrade. How do Atlas and and other exclusive WB operators pull it off? Dangerous would be dropping a 10+ year WB F/O into a 717 left seat operating in the high-density NE. It really is like two different airlines between WB and NB at Delta. The only sure-fire cross-training program is the 7ER for all the obvious reasons.
The topic is you need to not get lazy and complacent as a WB FO and go do a bunch of bounces as a domestic captain on 737 or 320 to keep your skills up I guess. I’ll never understand this logic. Sure if you plan on being a 320A or 737A don’t go fly a widebody for 20 years then upgrade or you’ll struggle. But begging people to do it so they can be a “better pilot” is a theory I’ve never understood.