Thanks guys:
A couple of folow ups:
I sent a letter of similar thoughts to Bill Archer when he was representing BALPA at the ECA FTL conferences a few years ago. As I had worked under UK, Dutch, Scandinavian and Italian FTL's, both short & long-haul, I felt I had some insight into different EU FTL's. No reply! and it seemed that ECA conference achieved very little, publically.
I read that the Italians might strike in protest at the JAA proposals. That's odd! I worked in Italy and that is one country that will benefit from new limits. That said, it would only be the non-Alitalia pilots. As said before, they had a cushy (i.e. correct) internal cap agreement. In the charters I worked 17 hours day/night duties with 2 pilots, no sector reduction and no time zone allowance. Thus we would fly a schedule of 16.40, 2 sectors across the Atlantic, 24 hours off, then 14.30, 2 sectors home. 1 day off and do it again. 2 pilots. Safe? you've gotta be kidding. heathly? see previious answer. It was not uncommon, in a period of 9 days, to have 3 periods of 24hours with no sleep. When I left, it took me 2 weeks to readjust to phyisical normality. i.e. eat, sleep and s**t at the right times and in the right order.
I agree that there needs to be standardisation. Under the UK FTL's the same duties would have been impossible, by a long chalk. If I remember correctly, the limit out-bound would be 10.30 and the limit return 09.30. Thus the italians had a 7.30 longer limit for that return flight. Wow!
Farnboro' also say avoid rest periods or 18-34 hours. The Italians know better. They have twice the flight time. Thus, in the Caribbean, after 12.30 stick time we had 25hours off. Seems like they had it all wrong in so many ways. AND, they were being sub-chartered into UK to fly trips for UK airlines with UK pax that would be not allowed by local crews. Where was the CAA in all this????
The JAA proposals are very similar to the Dutch, and greater than UK. (guess where the JAA HQ is?) I flew under those FTL's, to the limits. Knackering. KLM, of course, had other rules, and as no-one complained to the RLD, nothing changed. The VNV is the KLM union!!! It did nowt.
I flew under UK FTL's, to the limits on Atlantic and Africa routes. Knackering, as the rosterers worked you to the acclimatised limits on the Atlantic and then slipped in an African trip with no time change, rather than time off at home to recover. They used 3 days in Africa to recover, if you didn't get the s**ts. We were bouncing around the 100hours/28 all the time. IMHO going over it, but then the CAA & Balpa had a strange interpritation of 100hours in 28 days. Never figured it out how I could legally land in JFK with 106, 24 hours off, reduce back to 96, then land in Europe back on 104????? All on the 28th day. But they said it was so.
Finally, as we've all read the short-haulers working to the limits, as I have done, are knackered also. I can confirm that.
So, all in all, the majority of pilots are knackered. The pax were aghast when they asked how long we stayed in Cancun, after 17hours duty to get there, and we answered 24 hours. They thought we were staying the week with them. The same was true on the Banjul trips and many other routes. The pax conception of what we do is still based on the old glamorous BOAC (ah) days. The MP's proberbly use BA long-haul as their yard stick of pilot's lifes. Time they were woken up to reality.
In response to the suggestions of taking management on the jump seat;
In Holland I suggested to the finacial director, and the rosterer, that even with their radios, televisions, microwaves, canteens, large fresh toilets, big cuffy chairs, telephones, potted plants, space to walk about, meal & coffee breaks, they should work my roster for 4 days. Horrors of horrors, and they declined. They wanted a meeting on my day off, I declined, but suggested a meeting befoe my next flight. But, horrors, that was a Saturday, and they don't do weekends!
2nd and last rant over.
Good luck to the bretheren who've stuck it out. The people I feel sorry for are the wannabees lamenting in Flight letters that they can't get an interview. They don'y know what they are missing; someone should tell them. (Majors excluded)