Dave Fielding
"I think it is a credit to everyone that the debate is balanced and reasonable. All those rumours about Pprune appear to be unfounded. Well, in this thread at least."
Thank you so much. Perhaps you haven't heard all those rumours (borne out by the figures) that PPRuNe is the biggest and most successful professional aviation website on the net.
You say
"Hours are as good a measure of experience as we have."
Most pilots would probably agree with you but, according to the judgment, your side argued the opposite at the hearing: "The Claimant and the witnesses she produced in support held the view that competence and safety of a pilot could
not be satisfactorily measured by reference to hours flown" and it was BA who argued that hours are a reasonable measure of experience:
"BA’s witnesses view was that the number of hours flown was a necessary and realistic threshold which had to be achieved in a relatively concentrated period before a pilot could have a safe reduction in duties below 75% of full time.”
You add
"Our problem with BA was that they mixed up the absolute (number of hours) with the relative (percentage of a full-time roster)"
No they didn't - at least not according to the judgement, which says BA considers a pilot should have achieved (in it's view) a "necessary and realistic" threshold of experience (measured in hours - as you say, as good a measure of experience as we have) before being allowed to fly less than 75% of full time.
The Tribunal wasn't persuaded that "it would be unsafe or in any way unsuitable for the Claimant
or other pilot to fly at 50% of full-time."
Do you agree with that?
Regardless of the experience of the applicant?
"This case has veered occasionally to the personal. It should not do."
Why not? It's about one person's personal claim in which she relied upon her personal circumstances. Should people not express a view on her personal circumstances? Some people have praised her as a person for what they see as her courage. Others have been critical of her as a person for her behaviour. Should neither side make such comments?
"Let nature take it's course?"
You make pregnancy sound like an illness.
Your paragraph is a distortion of what people who hold a different view from you have said. No-one has suggested she shouldn't have the freedom to choose if/when to have children.
"don't see why women should be treated differently. This is a common complaint and one I think is the most difficult for males to comprehend."
She has had both support and opposition from both men and women in these discussions.
Do you assume that those who disagree with your views don't "comprehend" the issues?
Do you assume that, if they did comprehend, they'd agree with you?
