The Guvnor crept from beneath his stone and scribbled in the sand:
<<In my opinion, productivity should be the yardstick against which performance is judged.>>
Quite right.
<<Look at the Southwest (and Ryanair) people - they manage many more rotations (and correspondingly hours in the air) than their equivalents in the likes of BA.>>
Not, however, correct. By law here in the U.K., Pilots and Flight Engineers are only allowed to fly a maximum 900 hours a year. This is so that we don't become too tired and fatigued and fly into mountains etc.
In B.A., some pilots have had to be taken off service because they've reached that 900 hour limit. I would suggest that this shows we *are* productive, and more so than the majority of other airlines.
<<Pilots today are largely systems monitors - and to state otherwise is naive. >>
Not naive. Tell me, are you actually in the flying business, or are you just someone with an axe to grind and an overwhelming compulsion to show the rest of the world that you have no knowledge of aviation?
<<The safety of the aircraft, frankly, rests with the cabin crew and the air traffic controllers - both of whom are remarkably poorly paid.>>
Ah, right. Delusional as well. Tell you what, next time you are on an aircraft and it has the misfortune to lose an engine, why don't you suggest to the crew that a stewardess pop up to the flight deck and take control of the situation?