business management degree Wirbelsturm, so mildly educated in the needs of a business in order for it to succeed and prosper.
Hope you don't need it for your day job.
I've got an MBA, so also a little qualified to ascertain that these changes will, at the moment, have little effect on major companies who will continue to use their existing systems.
The 'broad brush' approach used by EASA covers many, many airlines in Europe who do not have the benefit of restrictive FTL operations and thus, for those employees, these regulations are a boon. As with the levelling of any playing field there will be winners and, potentially, losers. Whether the 'looser' restrictions will be adopted by those airline who currently run tighter national regulations remains to be seen. As with all EU regulation this is open to adjustment and change. It is wise however to object to potential changes before the company feels it can introduce them without resistance.
As to the ridiculous 'pilots can do another 100hrs a year' statement, it shows that you need to take the blinkers off you touted degree.
Fatigue is a major issue above and beyond the realms of 'tiredness'. Fatigue is a long term effect which reduces an individuals ability to process, retain and act upon sensory input. Many factors affect fatigue. A few nights out of bed and a few early starts when you are in an office with regular time zones, meal patterns and a standardised biometric pattern will make you tired but not fatigued. Constantly crossing time zones, attempting to sleep outside of you normal rythmn, meals out of synchronisation with both daylight patterns and time patterns all lead up to the onset of fatigue.
In a recent study scientists found that drivers suffering from scientifically derived fatigue performed, in a driving simulator, far worse than those who consumed twice the UK legal drink driving limit of alcohol.
One hull loss can kill a company. Pan Am? The Americans have seen it after Colgan and that's the reason why they have tightened up their FTL's. I feel a major EASA re-write will be up and coming.
Extra 100 hours a year? Perhaps for serving tea and coffee, not for landing a 200+ tonne jet at 180mph.
