Originally Posted by
SkyHigh
How about not requiring a doctors note if you are sick. If a pilot even feels a little tired they should be given the day off with no questions asked. The regionals often treat pilots like children. It is no wonder that sometimes they act like them.
Pilots should be able to call in sick or take the day off if they feel they need to for whatever reason. Airlines should have enough people on staff to cover. An investigation should not be opened whenever someone calls in sick or decides they don't want to work that day.
SKyhigh
Here is what the FAA agreed to with the controllers concerning that topic:
Section 7. In individual cases when employee counseling has not been effective and there remains sufficient cause to believe an employee may be abusing sick leave, the employee may be given advance written notice, indicating the reason(s) that he/she will be required for a period of time, not to exceed six (6) months, to furnish a medical certificate for each subsequent absence. When it has been determined by the Agency that the requirement is no longer necessary, the employee shall be notified and the previous notice(s) shall be removed from the records and all copies shall be returned to the employee.
Section 8. Except as otherwise provided for in Section 7, an employee shall not be required to furnish a medical certificate to substantiate a request for sick leave of four (4) days or less. An employee shall be required to furnish a medical certificate for absences of more than four (4) workdays, except that this requirement may be waived by the Agency in individual cases. If a physician was not consulted, a signed statement from the employee giving the facts about the absence, the treatment used, and the reasons for not having a physician's statement may be submitted to the Agency as supporting evidence.
Section 9. The number of hours of sick leave used shall not, in and of itself, constitute sufficient cause for sick leave counseling.
Section10. An employee who, because of illness, is released from duty, shall not be required to furnish a medical certificate for that day.
Section 12. Except in cases of abuse, sick leave usage shall not be a factor for promotion, discipline, or other personnel action.
Originally Posted by
NWA320pilot
Used to be a waiver for the age..... Not sure if it's still available though.
I think they used to give a letter saying that once you turned 23, you can turn in the letter to get your ATP.
Originally Posted by
bryris
The barriers to entry have got to be toughened. If not for safety, for the quality of the career. I'm for 3,000 TT to even look at a 121 airplane. But, if 1,500 is on the docket, that will work too.
Here is what ALPA said regarding this:
Need for Stronger Academic Emphasis
The Joint Aviation Authority (JAA), now the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and FAA pilot licensing requirements are both ICAO-compliant. The single biggest difference between EASA and FAA is knowledge requirements. The FAA theoretical knowledge is simply not as demanding as EASA, which has 14 written exams versus one by the FAA, which is a multiple-choice exam. The EASA exams require the student to be tested for 30-40 hours. By stark contrast, the FAA publishes its exam questions with answers provided so a student can purchase them, study the questions, and pass its single exam. Examination questions are not available for EASA exams in such a manner.
The least demanding Federal Aviation Regulations which govern commercial pilot license requirements (i.e., §61.125 and §61.155) specify the aeronautical knowledge requirements for commercial and airline transport pilot ratings. These rules were written decades ago, when there was no expectation that they would be used as minimum standards to train pilots to take jobs as airline first officers. The requirements emphasize weather and navigation, including interaction with air traffic control. There is some mention of aircraft aerodynamics and human factors, including aeronautical decision making and judgment as well as crew resource management. The regulations allow self-study and many such training courses emphasize passing the test rather than learning the material. We do not feel these requirements are adequate to prepare a professional airline pilot. The ground instruction of these subjects needs to be strengthened with required formal classroom academic instruction and more extensive testing and examination.
The EASA-approved training course for a commercial airline pilot tends to be rather structured and rigorous. FAA should develop and implement a corollary ground school and testing process in FAR Part 121 for all pilots who seek commercial airline careers. Testing akin to the quality of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exams or bar exam for attorneys would benefit aviation by serving as a screening tool to ensure that, in the future, only the most knowledgeable and dedicated pilots join the ranks of airline pilots.
http://www.alpa.org/portals/alpa/pre...-09written.pdf
Originally Posted by
newarkblows
For one thing it will create a level playing field for regionals looking at candidates. Places that fed off of and took advantage of the low timers because no one else was hiring at 300TT will have to change their tune. When hiring does pick up i think all regionals will be at the same hour requirement and the only other way to get applicants will be to pay and treat them better. It is sad that people had to die to get a common sense solution proposed. We all knew that hiring low time pilots was a bad idea.
This is a great point.
Originally Posted by
tzadik
Once again congress and the rest of the gang has completely missed the point and went for the most obvious and media friendly solution. You can take a 4000hr FO and if hes had his scheduled changed five times, been on a reduced rest overnight with crew tracking calling his room at various intervals throught the night, with a 510am show all for $28 an hour.... Mistakes might happen especially when your cheap arse company put min fuel on your plane with marginal weather at destination and no alternate. But I totally agree the difference between 1200tt and 1500tt is immense. What a joke.
There will be more in the bill than just this. I will guess there will be something about fatigue and fatigue risk management systems, airline training programs including command and leadership training, airline pilot screening, stronger academic standards, regional/major airline relationships (safety mentoring), and safety data and reporting systems (ASAP, FOQA, LOSA, SMS).
Anyways, I hope this kills the whole MPL idea.