The important thing to note here is that, given nobody lives in the crew car park (or is supposed to!), absolutely everybody commutes to some extent or another. The only question is the method and distance of that commute and how manageable it is. The answer to that will be different for everybody.
With reference to the sun rising at 30W comment, I know this wasn’t the point being made but at the same time it’s amazing to me how many people do this job for a living and still do not realise the importance of investing in a decent blackout mask (cost about £20) and lie there attempting controlled rest with a Club mask on or even a First mask both of which block out the square root of F all light.
Back to the SH v LH debate I personally know of someone who has picked up an LAX on overtime next month, heavy out and heavy back, sector swapped the return flight three times and now has a 7 day trip they are taking their partner on. This is whole levels of different world kind of stuff when compared to the SH grind. I’m not going to pretend it’s easy to do or a frequent occurrence but that kind of thing is possible and an option that just doesn’t exist at the locos.
With regard to Long Haul and longevity I think the fundamental issue being missed here is the utterly horrendous lifestyle that accompanies these nights out of bed namely people scoffing meals at 3 in the morning and raiding the club kitchen throughout the night, consuming gallons of alcohol downroute etc etc. We’ve all seen the kind of shape some of the guys (and girls) are in, trying to shift the blame of increased mortality here wholly onto lack of sleep is being wilfully blinkered. There’ll be plenty of people who don’t indulge to the same extent who keep themselves in shape who aren’t suffering - and will not end up suffering - the same ill effects. None of this is to say that nights out of bed are a good thing for you because of course they aren’t. But let’s not ignore the elephant in the room.
Last edited by RexBanner; 27th August 2024 at 19:10.