Wig Wag
If an UK Crew at London TMA in bad wx is a liability what state will crews from Ireland / Belguim / Spain / Europe / Africa / Russia etc be in given that they all have one thing in common - more flexible FTL's than UK Crews?. . .The 1 hr time difference was one subject amongst others that the FODCOM mentioned, admitingly the Airlines most likely affected would be Scheduled Airlines because of their route structures and crew patterns. However, I do feel the CAA on this subject should have looked at the wider picture. . .Give me your thoughts on the following
1/ A Virgin crew operating a late PM JFK, if they took 12 hours rest and operated back following morning JFK time.Could it be argued they could stay acclimatised to UK time rather than becoming unacclimatised?. The 12 hours rest would be see the crew mainly asleep?. A better FTL would be achievable and possibly on some route structures mean 2 crew rather than 3 crew ops
2/ A crew on a series of night flights commencing. .in UK, but first stop in Europe all on min rest. Do the same rules apply in that their FDP will be based on UK start time (with the possibility that a more favourable FDP may be achievable given UK time - 1 hr). If they stay on UK time zones what happens when they go back to the UK, do they switch to the European time start or stay at UK
So on this particular subject the CAA FOP omitted. .to look at the "wider picture", and choose to be selective, albeit based on medical evidence but common sense would suggest that if its going to affect a crew on a series of earlys then it will do for afternoons and nights.
As for BA asserting pressure on other UK Airlines I can assure you its normally the other way around... <img src="mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0">