EZY's sops are very good if you are flying into a very busy field, however, this is not always the case.
Say, for instance, an EZY aircraft is flying into field were there is not much traffic, whats wrong with starting to extend flaps at 10 or even 9 DME out for example?
As long as the airplane crosses the threshold at the CORRECT speed and path and with an APPROPRIATE power setting, then we can all affirm that the flight has been conducted in a safe manner. More so, plenty of fuel can be saved in these ever so difficult times.
These days, operators are shoving too much stress onto pilots back, which quite frankly have enough as it is.
FOQA is a very powerful tool if used correctly and "fairly". Pilots should be given talks in their yearly courses, and should be invited to debate about FOQA events. In this way, operators learn about their pilots needs and thoughts, and pilots become more aware of risks. I.e. use FOQA to teach pilots, not the scare them (more stress by the way).
I believe this is as simple as it should be.
SOPS should be known by heart and followed NEARLY at all times, this includes bad weather, whenever we feel tired etc etc; But lets not obsese, visual approaches are healthy, fuel efficient, they teach you how to fly the airplane in nearly any scenario and excuse me, but they are also extremely fun and fulfilling
These are my conclusions: Bad weather, tired, heavy traffic = SOPS
Good weather, relaxed, traffic permiting = extend flaps and gear later than normal, fly a visual approach when posible, enjoy your job because you have a damn good on!
Sorry about my grammer and spelling, i'm not an english speaking person and this is not my native language!