CRJ1000

Talking to some MAG Captains I heard about the Captain “right seat” check outs.
My Questions:
1. Is MAG the only airline that does this?
2. What are the training requirements to be “qualified” in the right seat?
3. Have YOU seen the FAA approved training requirements?
4. If you got a line check (CA in RT seat) could you prove you are qualified for that seat?
5. Has ALPA addressed this issue (staff the RT seat properly)?
Thanks for your time J

dojetdriver

Not really sure of the questions YOU are asking. Are you asking if it's legal to have somebody who is a CA (non LCA) occupy the right seat on an ordinary line flight operated under 121?

If so, yes, it's 100% completely legal.

My current employer has a tendency to do it when they are short staffed on FO's. Which quite frankly, I haven't seen since last summer. It may still go on, but not in my base. The only issue that ALPA has with it is the natural one. The more senior CA will be designated the PIC, of course. Also, it's not really specific to in the CBA, but I believe it's reserve CA's only.

I don't think ALPA really needs to address the issue as far as staffing the right seat goes. If the company is too stupid to pay TWO CA's to operate a flight, what is ALPA going to tell them? "Hey, hire more FO's, you need to staff better". Duh.

My prior employer's CBA had a different rule. Some of it makes perfect sense, some of it was rather silly. A newly qualified turbo prop CA could be required to sit in the right seat, but ONLY for the FIRST six months after his fed ride as CA. After that, he can't be called upon to occupy the FO's seat. A CA on turbo jet equipment could NEVER sit in the right seat, EVER. The logic being, he has put in his time (at that company), he can hold CA, why should he EVER be required to go back to the right seat and not be able to log PIC time unless he is displaced? And per that CBA, as soon as a turbo jet CA started FTD/CPT, he was not longer qualified to occupy the right seat on a line flight again.

2cylinderdriver

It is called "seat dependent training" and it is required to be approved by the airlines POI and included in the airlines approved training program, usually. Otherwise the above post seems to hit the nail on the head. I used to work at a place the used "split line" Captains as well, the bottom 1 or 2 Captains in small bases would be built lines that had both CA and FO flying. They usually do not require a specific line check in the right seat, because FO's are not required to have line checks at all under 121 generally.

BankAngle09

IOE check captains need to be right seat qualified to do captain IOE as well

Slice

It's done at UPS too. I've heard of recent CA JA's to the right seat.

dojetdriver

Um, I'm pretty sure we all knew that. I believe what the OP is asking is if a REGULAR non LCA CA can fly in the right seat on an ORDINARY 121 flight.

BankAngle09

let me bask in my glory of making a true statement LOL

Never know i didnt pick that up from the post so my bad, i did read it after an early morning.

btwissel

at RAH the CAs are right seat qualified. they do it when they're short on FOs. not that that's going to be a problem in the foreseeable future.

when i was at TSA they were not.

Airsupport

it hasn't happened at pinnacle in a while here but if you do right seat flying as a captain that you didn't bid for you will get captain pay and not fo pay.

ERJdude

are there any airlines that give CA's FO pay for right seat flying?!?! That would be insane, even MAG pays us left seat pay.