Just going back to Rat5s' earlier post about 4on 4off. This was done as a paper exercise (by me) at a UK charter outfit a few years ago. Two major problems surfaced; firstly you were always busting the 18-30 hour rest 'issue' (should be avoided) when switching from earlies to lates. Secondly, the average block hours per 28 days was 120-130, not a level the CAA would entertain.
Another example of alternative thinking was tried at A.N. Other UK charter outfit in the 90's. Crew were given the option for mainly earlies, mainly lates or not bothered. At the start most crew opted for mainly earlies, that quickly changed to mainly lates. In the end it became unworkable because of the imbalance between who wanted to work what.
And just on another of Rat5s comments, didn't the unions play a major (if not the major) part in the downfall of Eastern (USA)?
