I-Ford,
I have no problems with flying 100hrs per month, if it was to be done properly. This could be done in 3ish trips, and this would leave a lot of time to recover, get a life etc. Unfortunately, we have a very little man in charge at the moment, who is unable to understand what long haul flying is about. He does not like the idea that pilots should have more time off than anyone else in the company, so has directed that rosters should be made with max hours and min days off (this is also the reason that until recently those that flew the 900hr limit were rostered for SIM support duties until the hour problem went away...can not have those lasy pilots being paid for staying at home!!!). So these long haul flights are now seperated by min rest, then midnight turns, then min rest for the next flight. Rosters of 7days on 1 off, then 7days on 2 off have become the norm for the past 2yrs. And now it is all catching up, not only on the guys that have been doing it, but also on the crew sched fellas, who run out of crews due to this ineffiencent rostering practice. In fact before the pay cut we took a year and a bit ago, this little mans pettiness over ensuring pilots only had min days off was costing the company a bundle, as we would be rostered to fly 90-95hrs, be given the min number of days off, and then if any days were left over they would be turned into reserve days, which back then we got paid for.
Up till now, the Bus fleet has worn the brunt of this. The Boeing has been spared only due to the fact that most of its trips spend more time away from DXB. But once the 773er and 772lr start flying the longer sectors they too will get caught up in it.
There are rumours that some of these rostering practices have been changed, but it will take a few months to see if this is true or not.
So no, EK drivers are not afraid to work. We obviously want the company to do well and maintain our jobs. But we do not feel we need to die while doing so.
Don