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Cruise Captain vs. Regular Captain Time

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habubuaza

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2001
Posts
355
Obviously most majors out there are requiring 1000 hours pic in turbine aircraft. Can anyone tell me if there are any airlines that DO NOT allow cruise captain time? Thank you.
 
:( Reality is there is no such thing as a "Cruise Captain". The only Captain is the individual that signs the Flight Release. Where I fly all the F/Os are type rated but they took their type ride in the right seat, have to complete a full course to move to the left seat. Sorry Cruise Captain at best is considered F/O time, which it really is.
 
Well, where I work, Captain is title, not a seat position. So, here is another question. If the FO is rated in the aircraft, sitting in the left seat, performing the duties of captain, can he log it PIC. My answer: Its your log book, I don't care how you log anything.
 
Cruise Captain

This is how we see it........we (us F/O's) are all type rated in the 747-400 in the left seat. (We took our check ride from the Feds in the left seat for our initial type rating, for recurrent PC's and PT's we get checked flying from the right seat.) We fly from the right seat but in cruise when the captain is sleeping we sit and preform the duties of Captain. The only true Captain is the guy who signs the flight plan........but we all log cruise captain time.....(when we sit in the left seat for the captain) for one reason only!!! Foreign Airlines allow cruise captain time, you can go be a cruise captain at Eva or Korean or China, you will go to the sim every 90 days but you will make six figures as a cruise captain.
U.S. carriers do not care about cruise captain time, they will laugh at your cruise captain time if you are bold enough to list it in the first place. ONLY FOREIGN CARRIERS CARE ABOUT CRUISE CAPTAIN TIME. If you want to go that route it is a great place to be........If not, dont log cruise captain time.......or at least do not list in on any U.S. Airline application.

Just my two cents......

God Speed in all your endeavours,

Clifford

P.S. The only reason the company can dispatch a flight with one Captain and three F/O's for a 20 hour duty day is that all the F/O's are type rated and can act as cruise captain. If the F/O's were not type rated then the company would have to have two captains and two F/O's on board. We do this every day with our ANC-ORD-ANC trip. To be a captain at a foreign carrier you have to have 500 to 1000 hours PIC in type. But you can go to work for some of them as a cruise captain with no PIC time. Just with a F/O check out and several hundred hours of "cruise captain" time.
 
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Asian carriers hire "Cruise Captains" because they would not be allowed to hire foreign F/Os. The way they get around the rule is to call these F/Os "Cruise Captains". Remember all countries have their own version of the INS.
 
This is how we see it........we (us F/O's) are all type rated in the 747-400 in the left seat. (We took our check ride from the Feds in the left seat for our initial type rating, for recurrent PC's and PT's we get checked flying from the right seat.) We fly from the right seat but in cruise when the captain is sleeping we sit and preform the duties of Captain. The only true Captain is the guy who signs the flight plan........but we all log cruise captain time.....(when we sit in the left seat for the captain) for one reason only!!! Foreign Airlines allow cruise captain time, you can go be a cruise captain at Eva or Korean or China, you will go to the sim every 90 days but you will make six figures as a cruise captain.
U.S. carriers do not care about cruise captain time, they will laugh at your cruise captain time if you are bold enough to list it in the first place. ONLY FOREIGN CARRIERS CARE ABOUT CRUISE CAPTAIN TIME. If you want to go that route it is a great place to be........If not, dont log cruise captain time.......or at least do not list in on any U.S. Airline application.

Just my two cents......

God Speed in all your endeavours,

Clifford

P.S. The only reason the company can dispatch a flight with one Captain and three F/O's for a 20 hour duty day is that all the F/O's are type rated and can act as cruise captain. If the F/O's were not type rated then the company would have to have two captains and two F/O's on board. We do this every day with our ANC-ORD-ANC trip. To be a captain at a foreign carrier you have to have 500 to 1000 hours PIC in type. But you can go to work for some of them as a cruise captain with no PIC time. Just with a F/O check out and several hundred hours of "cruise captain" time.

So in the above case, does the 1 capt log 20 hours of PIC and the other 3 F/O's also log 20 hours split 3 ways?
 
Type rated or not, left seat trained or not you are not a legal "captain" or "pic" unless you have had a captain line check for 121 ops with that airline in that airplane.

So the answer is you can log anything you want but it is not legal PIC time.

Any questions call your local FSDO they have gladly and frankly answered any of mine without even asking my name.
 
i always thought it was whoever signed for the aircraft/release. for example if you had two captains flying the aircraft maybe both qualified in both seats. whoever signed for the aircraft/release is PIC and logs it. not the other.
 
Like others have mentioned, I would give some thought of logging it in a seperate column, as some foreign carriers may care.
However it is very clear in part 121 who is the captain.... his name is listed by the dispatchers name on the flight release....period!
Even though I was a type rated(from left seat) first officer, who received a small override as acting as cruise captain or International officer or whatever, my company status was FO, who did a yearly checkride, no line check, and first officer pay.
Captain gets the 2 checks per year, FAA line check initially, company line checks, yade yade..... without all this you are not 121 qualified to act as PIC.

We had( company not me personally) a gross Nav error in N Atlantic. Guess who got violated... The pic, even though he was in the bunk sleeping....while the 2 type rated FOs were up front...Again it comes down to no matter how many qualified FO s are on the 20 hour trip, the captain signs for the ac and this makes him ultimately responsible......just my 3 cents.
Operating under part 91 or possibly even 135 you could log pic if qualified and flying the leg, but not during part 121.
 

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