In theory you can crew an aircraft with an experienced Captain and a very new FO. It was done that way for years. Sure there were plenty of accidents but todays aircraft and flying environment are much safer. Airlines like KLM have 500 hour FOs flying in 747s. So why won't it work for Mesa and others like that?

The answer is longevity. Since Meas and those types are not career airlines the FOs will be "trained" by relatively low time Captains. Senior captains will move on rapidly and create upgrade opportunities too soon for fresh FOs. Also, since the upgrade time is minimal the FOs will not get enough experience in the right seat to be good mentors for new hire FOs that replace them. The cycle will continue until there are a series of tragic accidents cause by crew error by young inexperienced, (ambitious) crews.

I think guys like JO have not thought this through. They believe there is a never ending supply of 500 hour wonders willing to work for peanuts until they can upgrade. I don't believe this will continue in the near future. Majors will be in a better position to hire very young FOs because of the lengthy upgrade time. Mesas and the smaller airlines like them will be forced to raise pay and working conditions to retain good mentors or be faced with dangerous crews.

I'm just thinking out loud. That's what occurred to me today.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of training is a non-IOE captain doing. Showing the FO how to sleep, read papers, drink coffee, and look out side. I agree with all that you are saying but I'ts been a while since i flew with a captain that was giving "training"

I agree with all that you are saying...but really...isn't this topic getting kind of old...It's beginning to sound like "Whats better a CRJ or ERJ?" Yeah you put a twist on it by stating that training will be a issue later on...but I think that we can utilize this forum a little better...because no matter how much or how loud we b!!!! about it the state of the industry will dictate the hours of the pilots getting hired. Its happened in the past and will continue to happen in the future.

Hee Hee. All important skills. No, what I'm talking about is the seasoning one gets while just putting in time. If this time is gained in the presence of an experienced partner, so much the better.

There will never be a problem getting enough pilots at the commuter level.

I love lamp

"Dont you hate pants" ~Homer Simpson

If I had boobs, my showers would take longer.

The reason why airlines like KLM (as well as my former airline in Europe) can do this is that the screening and selection process is very thorough and difficult. And highly selective. The training in Europe is not like that done down at the local FBO and you can't just go and buy a book with all the answers in it like you can in the US. And the airline trainees are not trained themselves by 300 hour CFIs. They are trained by other airline pilots.

The rest of the world does it safely with low-time pilots. It can be done here too.

But you are right that the people we were paired up with were quite experienced.

I think if I were JO, I would be doing the exact same thing. And I think it's true that it'll be hard to come by a shortage of low/no-time wonder pilots wanting to fly for free, or even pay to fly. He's a businessman, not a pilot advocate.

Besides, if the FAA will go along with a 2000 hr. captain and a 250 hr. FO, it must be safe.