Non-pilot here:
There is no glory, or a glorifying need for someone to sacrifice himself for the company
My guess is that pilots are not doing this. From observing the changes in staffing and 'productivity' and persuasion in commerce over the past 15 years, I expect that pilots are sacrificing themselves for
themselves and their families.
In commerce (finance/oil/transport/etc) everyone is kow-towing to try and make it better for themselves. The companies know this. Remember that companies will always let things slide until people die AND it can be proved why they died. Then they run around squawking to the TV cameras "We will ensure that this never happens again." That is what they call 'management' these days. Anyone remember when being a manager meant ensuring that it did not go wrong in the first place?
The Unions can no longer help you - however much they might want to, they have to look after the general range of issues. This is a single issue and very well suited to being addressed in the modern style.
The key problem here is the need for anonimity. The reason that
The Christian Science Monitor was chosen in the USA is because it is perceived to have authority, more than a commercial newspaper. You need to go further.
Get a grass-roots movement going by setting up a non-profit organisation (run by retired pilots) to get the message across. Get a petition and register your true identities with a Commissioner of Oaths or retired Judge/Chief Constable or some other irreproachable source. Try and get pilots from across the globe (they could register when in London or on-line using a secure website) , then:[list=1][*]State the hours worked from clocking on-clocking off.[*]Show the increase in operating hours in the past ten years.[*]Problems of sitting still and checking instruments.[*]Delays in the day and how they affect you.[*]Get ACCURATE lists of times when people have fallen asleep and it's not been reported due to fear. After all, why are there plans to put video cameras in the flight deck?[*]State that you would prefer to do this in-house and withoyour own names but that the livelihoods of yourselves and your families are at risk if you do so.[*]The more carriers and countries that are represented the greater will be your influence.[*]Cite the crashes where fatigue has already been identified.[*]How many have died thus far?[*]Get Cabin Crew involved - it's their lives too.[*]Get Ground Crew (all areas) as well as office staff of the carriers involved - it's their jobs if the carrier goes out of biz as a result of the crash and it will be their friends (and maybe relatives too) that are in the a/c that crash.[*]What have pilots done to date to highlight the problem?[*]Have your petition delivered to No10 Downing street, The White House and similar President/Prime Minister offices across the world ON THE SAME DAY and AT THE SAME ZULU TIME. This will make more of a splash in the media if folks are delivering petitions at midnight/Four in the Morning etc.[*]Set up a web site where all the information is collated. PPRuNe may be able to help in setting up and supporting an separate (and simple) URL.[*]Show that it is ALL carriers that have this problem, not just short haul LCCs but the new and the long established ones.[*]Prove that pilots have not used their low-cost benefit mileage to take their family on holiday on their own carrier but have gone by car/train/ferry.[/list=1]
Will this make any differance? None ...
Until the next fatigue related crash and then you will be able to get sensible hours.
This will cost you money but it is your lives as well as ours. The website can invite the public to donate in increments of Five Pounds/Dollas/Euros and that will also feed into the loop of how concerned people are.
If you want to see how things get changed in the world these days, look at those single issue groups that have succeeded. If you genuinely believe that lives are at risk, then find a way of complaining that is irreproachable. It's called taking the moral high ground and will cost time and money and a great deal of effort. But it sounds like it might be worth it? Good luck and I'll donate the first Five Pounds.