Uncle Fred ...
I'm not going to answer all your points in detail, even if memory allowed, water under the bridge now and we didn't actually pay too much attention to the long Atlantic night sectors anyway, it was par for the course.
What's your point of asking how much time I got in Detroit AFTER the event !! It doesn't matter if we got 1 day or 1 year, the crew were knackered as they landed. I notice you didn't ask how much rest we'd achieved BEFORE the flight, which is all that matters, nor has the retirement age, or annual leave any bearing on the issue, unless of course you are just jealous of crew working patterns, as so many are ? If so, and I were still flying, I'd wake you up at 0200 as I drove off to work for a long night freighter flight - I might call you from some Hell Hole of the Empire on Christmas Day, too, and ask if you were enjoying YOUR Christmas with YOUR family ? All too often I only knew for certain that I would be home for Christmas, or school fetes etc. AFTER the event.
Until a Constellation crashed into the seawall landing at Kallang, Singapore, some 60+ years ago, when the crew had been on duty for over 24 hrs, there were no flight time limitations, or if there were, they had no teeth.
For those who are moaning about long duty days, you have my sympathy, but it was always thus. Nothing new under the sun.
As a Captain I only once had to apply any 'pressure' to a crew to extend their duty, to a daytime limit of 14 hrs., because the tech crew were happy to do it and I felt that the cabin crew could at least accompany us, and the time wasn't the big issue, after all they would get extra pay - a big incentive - but they were misinterpreting their own union rules, which was what finally p***ed me off.
Much more recently, the owner,CEO, of a longhaul freight outfit I was working for asked me to organise a crew pattern which included a long duty day, and when I pointed out that it was just outside the legal limit and we couldn't do it without an extra 'slip' crew somewhere en route, he then suggested that we get one crew to do the flight planning, aircraft checks, start the engines etc. at which point a second crew would turn up and slip into the seats, having only been on duty for about 5 minutes , and immediately take off and so complete the flight within the limit !!! They all try it on. I left that lot shortly afterwards.
I still had The Best Job In The World, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, all that I'd do differently would be to start sooner, and have a better seniority position on the Bidline !
Enjoy.
Last edited by ExSp33db1rd; 6th Feb 2011 at 09:13.