Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 182.72; Flight Crew Total 9918.95; Flight Crew Type 4570.32
Confusion; Training / Qualification
Deviation - Altitude Undershoot; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Human Factors; Environment - Non Weather Related
Captain had been off for 6 months.  Flying First Officer new on aircraft 3 months. I was Relief Pilot #1 in corner seat.  Initial clearance to climb to 3;000 feet.  Then cleared to climb higher.  Around 4;000 feet after flaps up; plane was in a descent and ATC asked if we were going to climb?   FO put on autopilot; plane was still not climbing.  Power was nowhere near full power. The other Relief Pilot #2 talked FO into moving power up by hand (manually).  After quite some time we realized plane was in ALTITUDE hold.  Altitude knob pushed; plane entered VNAV climb mode.
Air carrier Relief Pilot reported the Captain and flying First Officer were not climbing as instructed by ATC due to inadvertently being in altitude hold during departure.