Seriously. An Airline Transport Pilot must: * Have demonstrated precision flying, including precision power off landings, from a variety of altitudes and precon

Seriously. An Airline Transport Pilot must: * Have demonstrated precision flying, including precision power off landings, from a variety of altitudes and preconditions. * Multiple demonstrations of a wide range of flying capabilities, including recovery from loss of navigation, systems failures, and unusual attitudes. * Attained a 1st class medical certificate, which is actually quite challenging. Annual re-certification, and sometimes more frequently than that for pilots that have anything at all quirky going on in their body. This includes extensive health records (such as EKGs) sent to the FAA for analysis and includes relevant dental work. (Yes, pressure bubbles inside teeth can cause pilots to lose the ability to control an airplane.) Got a DUI? Pretty much eliminates flying for life. * Attained a flight instructor's certificate. Almost all airline pilots were flight instructors before becoming airline pilots. * 1500 hours flight experience, enough to all but guarantee in-flight emergency or systems failure will have occurred. * 1000 hours jet experience. * Attained instrument ratings, multi-engine ratings, etc. * And that's just to get past the interview. Then the real training begins. In all, that's a lot of training, and pilots pay about as much as a doctor to get that training. Since attaining a Private Pilot's license myself (which I found challenging and which ATPs consider kindergarten) I've realized that actual airline pilots are in general remarkably good pilots. Even if you, sitting in the back cabin, think the landing is rough, it's probably a really good firm precision landing considering the conditions.