787 Pilots

[duke1000]

Just a question from a curious passenger. When WestJet added the Dreamliner to it's fleet, where did they get 787 Captains from? Are they trained from within the company. Or hired from outside. And where do you find a bunch of 787 Captains to hire? Like I said - just curious.
Thanks....

[Old fella]

Not that I know a lot but what is so magical about a B787 that an experienced WJ B737 Captain couldn’t handle in the same seat. I could be wrong but tis just another aircraft to be trained on.

[duke1000]

Yes I agree. Hoping for some insight from a WestJet pilot about the transition process and how different to fly from a 737.

[indieadventurer]

787 pilots, both captain and fo, came from the westjet pilot group and the positions were awarded via seniority. Boeing provided 787 training pilots who flew with the crews and aircraft when it first came online iirc.

[duke1000]

Thank you very much. That's what I figured.
Always enjoy flying WestJet.

[Blue42]

Yes I agree. Hoping for some insight from a WestJet pilot about the transition process and how different to fly from a 737.

Many of the Capts actually came from the B763, some FOs were B737 Capts.

[Daniel Cooper]

That would make sense since flying the plane is the easy part. Dealing with different rules and operations at international airports is the hard part.

[Hugh Jasshole]

The Captains I dealt with working on the WJ 67's generally had employee numbers 500 and below. That means they have been with company since the beginning, or very close (20-23 years). Most have moved on to the 87 now.

[ant_321]

That would make sense since flying the plane is the easy part. Dealing with different rules and operations at international airports is the hard part.

That side of things wouldn’t be a big deal either. Westjet flies to quite a few different countries on this side of the pond so it’s not like they are foreign to different ways of doing things. Crossing the Atlantic can be a little different the first time you do it but no biggie. And as for operating in Europe, it’s really no big deal. Maybe study your proper radio phraseology so you don’t sound like a douchey American but it’s not really that different.

[snowcone]

What is the pay on the 787?

[Shady McSly]

500

[Mostly Harmless]

500

No. It is 42.

[plausiblyannonymous]

Just a question from a curious passenger. When WestJet added the Dreamliner to it's fleet, where did they get 787 Captains from? Are they trained from within the company. Or hired from outside. And where do you find a bunch of 787 Captains to hire? Like I said - just curious.
Thanks....

AFAIK, being Captain is not as much about having thousands of hours on a specific type of airplane, but instead, more about having the experience to handle complex situations and work as a team leader.

The 737 to 787 jump is big, but it's not anything crazy. Pilots get training in the sim, in the airplane, and have many hours of studying on the ground.

[complexintentions]

Maybe study your proper radio phraseology so you don’t sound like a douchey American but it’s not really that different.

Please do. Still needs a lot of work. Hear Canadian flights coming into London every day, some sound more American than the Amurricans.

And read the damn Jepp/LIDO notes on WHAT they want you to say. Please! It's not that hard, but it's different than Pearson.

[altiplano]

Arrival phraseology is straight forward enough, but I'm not repeating behind on line up clearances.

[ahramin]

Arrival phraseology is straight forward enough, but I'm not repeating behind on line up clearances.

Line up behind are required to be read back. Just repeat what the controller said and then do it. Simple.

[altiplano]

Yeah but they say it twice.

I read the first condition clearly. I believe it's superfluous to repeat it at the end.

[Kaykay]

Yeah but they say it twice.

I read the first condition clearly. I believe it's superfluous to repeat it at the end.

If it’s procedure, then do as you’re told. Don’t be arrogant.

[altiplano]

LHR, and you're calling me arrogant? LOL...

"It's not broken, it's British."

[Eric Janson]

Arrival phraseology is straight forward enough, but I'm not repeating behind on line up clearances.

Clearances have to be read back verbatim - otherwise you are creating a situation where the Controller isn't sure if you've understood the Instructions you've been given.

This has been a factor in numerous incidents/accidents.

Basic Airmanship.

[altiplano]

It's basic English language skills. Between the redundancy and the ending of a sentence with a preposition, I wonder who the master of the English language really is?

Just to be clear, it's the redundancy, saying "behind" twice, I have issue with.

I'm not saying it that way, it makes less sense than just a clear readback.

I readback the clearance and the condition.

[complexintentions]

I'm not saying it that way, it makes less sense than just a clear readback.

Reading it back the way you're supposed to IS the clearest way. No one really cares what you think about who's the "master of the English language" or what you "believe is superfluous" or other such irrelevant nonsense.

The redundancy is by design, to mitigate the increased risk of such a conditional clearance, hence the last word is repeated as the most important one - "BEHIND".

But hey, you be you.

Just another North American pilot everyone rolls their eyes at on the radio.

Oh, and guys, you don't need to tell every Shannon and London controller you're CPDLC every time you check in, they know.

[altiplano]

You got it... no one really cares.

[complexintentions]

You got it... no one really cares.

Well, at least you're honest - that DOES at least explain a few things we hear from my beloved fellow North Americans!

['97 Tercel]

Cool thread