ABG.
Quite right. Others earlier, in management and vested interest positions, have said that pilots are severly limited in what they do, and none work more than 900 per year etc. etc. = 17 hours per week. Nollocks. Fecking nollocks!
I know of pilots who have flown +1000 hrs in 12 months because their company year was not a rolling year. That is allowed by one illustrious EU 'AA. Even under UK CAA FTL's I regularly flew more than 100 in 28 days long-haul. Their interpretation of the 28 day rule was grey to say the least. I would take off at 95 hours on day 28 and land in USA with 105 on day 28. 24 hours off, reduce back to <100, then depart USA and land in EU >100 again. 2days off then repeat. It made a nonsense of the rules. I phoned BALPA. Answer? They disagreed but said the CAA allowed it. What is a union for if not to police the rules. What does "max 100 hours in 28 days" mean if not just that. How can you depart knowing that you will land on day 28 with more than 100 hours?
That con, plus the roster week starting on a Monday, or whatever day the airline sees fit to choose. My body works per day, not Monday - Monday. 7 days is 7 days; it must be rolling, the same with a year. The bending of the rules is rife and there are too many blind eyes from the supposed inspectorates. It is not only pilots who break/bend the rules. I suspect that the very authorities who wrote the rules are sailing too close to the wind as well in their implementation of them. What about an independant inquiry into the whole matter; but not the white wash that we've seen in many previous investigations of industrial malpractice or goverment jiggery-pokery.