It has always been a boom/bust with regards to getting an airline job.. There were 35,000 seats and pilots working with another 225,000 looking to get a seat back in the 80s.. Many qualified people ended up selling cars or furniture or worse..
I have often wondered what would happen when they priced the whole "get a pilot license" out of reach for 90% of the population ? We once had a policy of letting our regional airline pilot move up and work for the flag carrier.. Then that program was basically canned.. It was a good program and the pilots we got from the regionals were qualified and ready to work..
Most of the new hires I flew with before I retired were not stick and rudder guys but could push a button with the best of them.. Let the automation fail or make them hand fly an ILS and some were seriously behind the power curve..
Hours flight time does not always equate to knowledge and know how.. Many of us went into combat with just 200 hours flight time.. Yep we made several dumb mistakes..... but if you survived you were more knowledgeable ie "I will never do that again" !!
New guys fly with check airmen and then with captains who have been around for a while. This stops some of the stupidity and also acts as continuing training.. The biggest problem I have with the new guys is they are so used to pushing buttons they have (in many cases) lost their stick and rudder skills (if they ever had them to begin with?)
Some day they will have airliner drones and one guy who is in the cockpit to monitor but not touch anything !! I am glad I did what I did when I did it.... just another old guy and his thinking on the subject..
I have often wondered what would happen when they priced the whole "get a pilot license" out of reach for 90% of the population ? We once had a policy of letting our regional airline pilot move up and work for the flag carrier.. Then that program was basically canned.. It was a good program and the pilots we got from the regionals were qualified and ready to work..
Most of the new hires I flew with before I retired were not stick and rudder guys but could push a button with the best of them.. Let the automation fail or make them hand fly an ILS and some were seriously behind the power curve..
Hours flight time does not always equate to knowledge and know how.. Many of us went into combat with just 200 hours flight time.. Yep we made several dumb mistakes..... but if you survived you were more knowledgeable ie "I will never do that again" !!
New guys fly with check airmen and then with captains who have been around for a while. This stops some of the stupidity and also acts as continuing training.. The biggest problem I have with the new guys is they are so used to pushing buttons they have (in many cases) lost their stick and rudder skills (if they ever had them to begin with?)
Some day they will have airliner drones and one guy who is in the cockpit to monitor but not touch anything !! I am glad I did what I did when I did it.... just another old guy and his thinking on the subject..