I'm sorry to disagree with you but there are two pilots in the airplane. Both are equally responsible for maintaining their proficiency to fly the aircraft at any phase of flight including any and all normal and non-normal operations.

Never rely on the guy in the other seat to save your arse....

Whale

Whatever dude, I don't think the F/O was relying on the Captain to save his arse - I think he got behind the jet and was never able to catch up - thus demonstrating poor ability/proficiency on his part. The UAL 747 Captain probably lost situational awareness and failed to recognize his F/O was doing an unsat job flying.

The more I drink, the more I edit!:p

I you know, I hate to admit it, but maybe this incident had something to do with the whole "PNF" vs. "Pilot Monitoring" change in policy? Timing seems just about right, as I recall.

Good point. Just fly the freakin airplane!!

Less good news
 

Air Freight down 25% in APR, 20% in May and 16 % in June year over year sounds like a bottoming and good news.

From article above.

The only one who was truly 'proficient' was the actual scheduled FO on the trip who was actually the RFO for that leg because the RFO needed a landing. The scheduled RFO was an ex-PAL guy who had been on the ropestart at both companies but mostly as an IRP, who was transitioning to the -400 at the time. I believe, the Capt. had just returned from a medical LOA. They misdiagnosed a compressor stall as a blown tire, which is why they didn't fly the EOSID or have the airplane properly coordinated. The Capt. did take over ultimately, but it was said that the RFO(scheduled FO for the trip) was the first one to realize what was going on.

Rla
 

OK ... probably doesn't belong in this thread but I didn't think it was worthy of a whole new thread (in accordance with Vagabond's new guidance) ...

washingtonpost.com

Same article was in today's Commercial Appeal.

We are so screwed if this gets passed.........

Soft 2010?
 

The recovery is going to be a while...the punchline is at the bottom of the article...Dec 2012 can't get here fast enough! :(

FedEx (FDX) Comments On 2010; Sees Continued Softness in Demand and Flat Shipping Volumes in 1st Half

July 15, 2009 3:37 PM EDT

In its 10-K, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) gives some guidance for 2010. The company sees continued softness in demand and flat shipping volumes in 1st half of 2010. Sees 2010 revenues hurt by lower yields. Sees 2010 earnings hurt by lower revenues. Sees 2010 Capex of $2.6B.

FedEx's Comments on its Outlook for 2010 in 10-k:

We expect continued softness in demand for our services in 2010, as shipping volumes are expected to remain relatively flat as the global recession persists, particularly in the first half of 2010.

Our results for the first half of 2009 included the benefit of significantly stronger economic activity and rapidly declining fuel costs, creating difficult year-over-year comparisons.

The timing and pace of any economic recovery is difficult to predict, and our outlook for 2010 reflects our expectations for continued challenges in growing volume and yield in this environment.

Revenues in 2010 are expected to be negatively impacted by lower yields resulting from lower fuel surcharges due to more stable fuel prices and an aggressive pricing environment for our services.

We anticipate volume growth at the FedEx Ground segment due to continued market share gains and flat volumes at the FedEx Express segment for 2010.

Further, we expect LTL shipments to decrease for 2010 due to the continued excess capacity in this market.

However, if excess capacity exits the LTL industry in 2010, we have the network, resources and capabilities to manage any resulting incremental volumes.

Despite the benefit of numerous cost-reduction activities in 2009 (described above), earnings in 2010 will be negatively impacted by lower revenues as a result of the yield and volume pressures described above.

If economic conditions deteriorate further, additional actions will be necessary to reduce the size of our networks.

However, we will not compromise our outstanding service levels or take actions that negatively impact the customer experience in exchange for short-term cost reductions