Re: Career First Officers
Surendra Ratwatte (surenone_at_emirates.net.ae)
Thu, 15 Jan 1998 12:59:08 +0400
Hi All,
Must be spring, can't keep hibernating for very long these days:
Some tentative answers:
>1. Why do we have career FOs? (e.g. poor selection, pilot prefers to be an
>FO,poor leadership skills, etc.)
Perhaps the system is imperfect, and the occasional pilot is unable to make
the grade, for a variety of complex reasons. It seems to cut across all
boundaries of nationality, age and background, though it is mercifully rare.
>2. Does your airline/military organization have career FOs?
Yes.
>3. Do you think that career FOs are 'a bad thing', i.e. should have
> up or out progression?
These guys all have families. What are we to do, throw a competent F/O on
the street? My company is occasionally cold-blooded, but never that bad!
There is a legal problem as well, they were hires as F/O's, if the company
were to then fire them, it might to a lawyers feeding frenzy.
Surendra Ratwatte
Captain B-777
Emirates Airlines
PO Box 92
Dubai
U.A.E.