Originally Posted by
250 or point 65
The point is not that you are flying a 172, its how you got to fly that 172. There aren't many people out there that can afford to just buy 1500 hrs of 172 time. Therefore they are going to have to be employed by someone flying that 172. Who operates single engine props? CFI's, cargo, traffic watch, banner towing, etc
Now we can get into which of these experiences are most valuable, but the point is that the guy that got hired right out of flight school has never had to make a decision. He's always been operating under the umbrella of his instructors CFI. Then when he gets to the airlines he'll be operating under his captains ATP. The guy with 1500 hrs has, at some point in his short, professional career, made decisions that affected his passengers, cargo, students, airplanes, and his own life. He may not be ready to captain an airliner, but he's much more prepared to be a competent FO, and he has experience that he can recall when he upgrades.
This hits the nail on the head. Raising it to 1500 hours makes it far more likely that the entry-level airline pilot has had to make decisions in a professional flying environment where he had to balance the competing demands of customers, the boss, WX, MX, economics, etc. You will still have the occasional trust-fund baby who can afford to just buy 1500 hours but they will be few and far between. That kind of command decision making cannot be acquired from the right seat by the average 300 hour wonder (who has had no other life experience to speak of either).