Originally Posted by
kersplatt
The majors don't have to hire someone with 1000 PIC turbine time like they have in the past. They could lower their mins to 1000 turbine SIC and probably have a pretty good pool of pilots. Obviously they lack experience and PIC skills but it would be a lot higher standard than what other countries FO's entry level experience at the majors and they seem to be doing OK. I don't predict that they will lower their standards drastically like a commercial license with wet ink as previously suggested but they could lower it a little and still have plenty of applicants. It will be the regionals that will struggle to keep up with the turnover.
Why would they lower their mins? They don't need to. Maybe they don't want a pool of just "pretty good pilots". Even when everyone was hiring, they were still hiring pilots with at least 1000 PIC turbine. It's not like it was that hard to find plenty of pilots at least that qualified. Many also required the ability to get an ATP if not an unwritten requirement to actually have one. It should stay that way if not become an actual requirement. ATP only.
The fact that other countries do something else is irrelevant and doesn't make it okay.
Yes, the people you're advocating hiring WOULD lack experience and PIC time. So, why would they be worth hiring? Just because they'll be an FO for a while doesn't mean PIC experience is not a factor. PIC experience is important. Some pilots were never meant to be in the left seat of an airliner and that's just the way it is. It shouldn't be up to an airline to determine that after they hire someone. They start doing that and perhaps they figure it out the hard way........... like when they stall a perfectly good airplane and kill everyone on board.
Even with the PIC requirement, it's not like that's fool proof either. Look at my company. Bottom line is, lower hiring mins to avoid a PIC requirement is not a good idea.