Letters to the Editor
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A few observations
One observation is that, if you pair the newbie with an experienced pilot, it can work out well. I don't feel like there'd be a danger having a pilot with 500 hours paired with someone who has many hours in the sky. Apprenticeships have worked all through civilization. The wretched results come when you think you are saving money by sending a noob to school to sit in a classroom and take a nap and then throw that person into a job. Apprenticeships aren't like that. There's a lot of guidance. One thought is that, perhaps these folks could be running cargo flights and not passenger flights, but otherwise, I don't see a huge problem with this.
The other thing is that we're talking small, regional flights and a lack of pilots for those small routes. This is a good argument for beefing up the railroads. If you're going a short distance, a train ride is just as quick as a plane ride. You don't have to show up two hours ahead of time and get frisked, and trains often load and unload in the center of town.