Read the update.

1000 hours of UAL time is no longer required.

 

Ive only been here 4ish years but in that time, you were always able to self-certify the other 500 so that's not new. The Aviate fail as many checks as you like thing however is a lowering of standards id argue.

 

1000 hours UAL was never a requirement. You need 500 hours of United time, but you also need 1000 hours of 121 time post-colgan. The computer is dumb and just assumes you have no other 121 time and won't let you upgrade until 1000 hours UNLESS you go in and certify you have 500 hours elsewhere that count.

 

Quite correct… nothing new, just begging us to do it.

 

The tone of the CRU seemed like it was trying very hard to sound like “these unfilled vacancies aren’t an issue…” which was a bit undermined by a reminder to self-certify as though it was a new thing.

 

I can’t imagine being very junior and even considering taking one of these bids until the next contract is ratified. Setting yourself up for years on reserve with unknown work rules sounds like a recipe for misery.

 

What would it look like if lots of pilots filed general FSAPS with respect to the fact that A LOT of people who are upgrading right at 1 year are probably not ready. I fly with mostly u39____ FOs and am still constantly doing SOE (secondary OE). Routinely, the ones that take an upgrade right at 1 year are the ones who probably shouldn't. The ones who say "no way am I ready to upgrade at 1 year" seem to have better judgement and awareness. 🤷🏿‍♂️. It's not rocket science, but it does require a little experience and the only way to get experience, is to experience it.

I brought this up to ALPA the last time I was called after a PDR and was told that a general FSAPs voicing my concerns was not a terrible idea (so long as it wasn't about a specific pilot, which I would never do) and it would force the company as well as the FAA to provide a little more scrutiny.

Reality is...some are ready at 1 year, some are not. Anyone can do hold it. In the interest of safety, not everybody should as soon as they can.

 

The sim training for upgrade is highly scripted, and not difficult, especially if you’re upgrading on the same plane and can take the short course. Learn the script, pass the sim. It’s all up to the LCA’s. Captain OE should be very thorough and captain candidates shouldn’t get signed off unless they prove that they’re ready. Depending on their background, many will be. Someone with thousands of hours PIC at one of our regionals wouldn’t have much trouble, where a low time pilot with no PIC time paired up with an inexperienced FO would be a disaster waiting to happen.

 

I only anonymously brought it up after flying with someone who had an upgrade award who I thought truly was not ready. I saw his name on the list so I guess he made it through. He was very inadequate as an FO.🤷🏿‍♂️

ALPA suggested a general FSAP. I never did it. But FSAPs would force the powers that be to look at people who upgrade with the bare minimum experience. Former regional CAs, in my experience, are the low time FOs that seem to be most ready. Even most of a lot of them still seem to have a some blind spots in the operation.

 

IMO the FAA needs to step up and create some dynamic regulations for required 121 upgrade experience. This would be incredibly difficult regulatory language to draft, and would likely end up being unfair to certain subgroups, but 1000 hrs 121 as a simple blanket rule is going to bite someone at some point.

A pilot who came over with 3,000 hrs of USAF bomber command time or 700 carrier landings is in a very different place than someone hired with 500 hrs at a regional flying an airplane with RNAV and Autothrottles and then 500 hours in a 777. A former regional pilot with 8 years of LCA experience is in a different boat than someone who has been on the seniority list for 20 years but spent the last 10 as an IRO and just upgraded to the 737. These are sweeping generalizations not intended to represent every member of these subgroups, but I believe we are starting to see event(s) which fall within some of these categories.

Until then it’s all fun and games until a delayed flight leads to a 2am approach into Missoula in a snowstorm and the GPS integrity hiccups, the IRS positions have drifted, and it’s time for a VOR approach.