Piltdown Man
Firstly, no disrespect.
I don't know if you fly or with whom, but if you try that approach with the low-cost carriers it is, in my experience, unlikely to succeed.
I hope the carriers have changed in the past few years, but if either flightdeck or cabin crew with a certain 'colourful' airline tried the trick of reporting 'sick' on a regular basis action was taken against them. Heaven forbid you told the truth and said you were fatigued because you were working five or six days 4 or 6 sector days on the trot! I got very tired having worked a minimum 12 hour day, then an hours' drive each way each day. That left 10 hours 'home time' of which, by necessity, at least 8 hours was asleep. So 2 hours at home awake max. No wonder I binned airline flying in the end. It just wasn't safe when the (then) Captains were falling asleep and expecting me to be sufficently awake to do the navigation, 'flying' and RT - and eat and complete the plog and talk to the pax. Was it unsafe? I don't know. Would we have passed a sim detail or carried on like that with a training captain on the jump seat? NEVER!!! So it can't be right can it?
It didn't happen all the time obviously, but it should never have happened at all.
I appreciate that airlines vary and I should hope that the likes of BA have more favourable roster patterns than the budget airlines.
It was never about quality of pilots - I've flown with test pilots and ex-BA, RAF, Army, Navy, Virgin, Singapore airline pilots for example - some of the best around. But no matter your background or training we are all humans and (most) humans need adequate rest.
Deprive them of that rest and people cannot act at their best day-in day-out no matter who they are.
I've had one of two near misses due primarily to the fatigue of either myself or the other pilot which now I have 'retired' are of anecdotal interest only. If the passengers had only known how close to death they were!
Not sensationalism, just airline experiences during several years in the job.
It's no life either being constantly tired - with all the stress that places on relationships. Most of my contemporaries were either single or divorced. I know 'happy' relationships exist but in my experience they are few and far between (if everyone is honest to their partner!!!). Stress causes more stress.
Some examples:
Captain fell asleep due to fatigue - when awoken he had no recollection of the flight (didn't wake him because a thought it better he was awake for the approach rather than the cruise);
Captain misread the approach plate and I was too tired to spot the error. 50 people were almost killed as we descended to within a few hundred feet of the ground in cloud;
Captain (ex-RAF instructor) told me to take control as he was so tired he needed to sleep. He slept for 90% of the 3 hour sector to Spain. Awake for only the take-off climb and approach;
'Colourful' airline ops called to say crew were tired and needed to complete duty in AMS - also over Captain's Discretion. Vote taken and all crew agreed ops should be informed. We were told either to complete the duty or change aircraft and fly the shorter sector to Luton. Then get a taxi home (5 hrs in total) - Hobson's choice. In the end we flew back to base. Tired and out of hours (try the Piltdown Man approach in that situation).
Stories abound and in this case most are not exaggerated - but the vast majority are never told - what happens in 'Vegas stays in 'Vegas!
The effect of age has an affect too (of course). No doubt that is one of the reasons BA pilots are retired at age 55. Where do they go then - the likes of easyjet and Ryanair of course! Five to ten more years to build up their pensions, live a good life, or pay off the wife/wives and provide maintenance for the children.
As we all know CAP371 was never designed for this method of working. The winners are the passengers. Let's hope no one reading this is ever killed by a fatigue related accident. Maybe they and the family they left behind might wish they'd paid for a more expense ticket?
Maybe the airline that tends to charge for every extra imaginable could charge an extra €10 to guarantee a 'fatigue-free' crew!
FOK