Sleep well
I havenīt read the entire tread, but I know that the industry are pushing our limits in their neverending quest for money.
If I work five days i a row, starting with a wake up call at 4:00 AM, I am pretty useless the last two days, and I am not alone according to my fellow pilots. Also after a long day with only two legs, but at almost 6 hours each, I am too close to my limit during the last few hours, especially during the winter when we run into low braking action and/or snow clearance at our final destination. It is insane, but the money boys donīt give a ****.
In the beginning of my career I flew commuter airplanes in the US. I flew up to 15 legs per day, and boy did we sleep. It was also insane, and luck is what saved us from major trouble. The company didnīt care. Airlines tends to see the governing rules as a limit, not a guideline where common sense should be applied when the schedules are made.
Now with the age 60 thing happening, it is not about to get better. Many 60 year old pilots are fine, but there are certainly those who should retire, in stead of sitting trough long legs drooling on their tie for hours. Donīt they sometime wonder why their ties are so wet after work?
In the end it is up to us and our unions. We are the idiots who will do anything just to fly.....like little boys. We run off and buy typeratings, pay for training, accept pay cuts, worse conditions, just to get to fly. Hell, I have even heard of idiots willing to pay for their own uniforms........idiots!