Two or three pilots?
Are there international laws governing the number of pilots a long-haul flight needs? Or is it simply company policy?
I recently flew with Virgin Atlantic from Manchester to Orlando and there were only two pilots on board. The flight lasted approximately eight hours.
Would both pilots have been on the flight deck for the entirety of the flight (excluding the obvious toilet visits)? Eight hours seems like a long time to concentrate.
I understand that V/A put three pilots on their flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Is this simply because these flights are a few hours longer?