http://human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/zt....Abstract.html
This a thread which details the sleep/wake/duty pattern leading up to the Guantanamo Bay crash.
Seems VERY familiar to me, as I'm sure it will to many others in our industry.
The CAP371 hours do seem to be treated as a target by my lot but the botttom line is that the great unwashed expect to fly for very little money, thanks to the likes of Easy and Ryanair, and consequently have dragged our profession into the gutter, along with the lifestyle we have all worked so hard to achieve over the years.
The number of times a Sharm or other Middle East flight is rostered
exactly on the allowed FDP is amazing - and 9 times out of 10 we have to use discretion or we'd have to land at somewhere on the way back each time and rest for 10 hours which would not go down well, either in flight ops, with the pax or with the domestic manager who's cooked a nice roast....
Hike the fares back up and let's all get back to normal.
Thrush