unwiseowl - you say 'against the advice of the UK CAA' and that is what the BALPA document says. Can you tell us where and how the CAA have given such contrary advice?
As far as I am aware the CAA can, effectively, veto anything it does not intend to adopt. It is one thing for them to tell us they do not agree but quite another for them to exercise their opinion in Europe - have they done that? I suspect CAA are far too concerned about gearing up to privatisation and potential share options and all the other 'goodies' to think about 'rocking any boats' on our behalf. Whilst they do, perhaps in many cases, did, have some very good people who were, essentially 'on the side' of aviation and aviators, I see and experience a very different CAA of late. Even the most obvious and basic muddles that we need answers to, they seem incapable, reluctant and too busy to do - preferring to farm as many cost centres as possible out to new quangos who don't know the answers either - as well as making us buy stuff that we really ought to be provided with - like JARs.,for example. Note that the French apply whichever of the JARs their aviation industry supports and veto those they don't - or, rather, just keep quiet and do what they want, anyway. I would like to see what CAA are actually doing to support 'their advice' on this topic. I rather suspect that airline operators will be delighted to see the new FTLs introduced - for obvious commercial reasons - are you sure CAA are not supporting the UK industry on this, rather than the workforce - viz: flight crew?
Actually, given age restrictions and a host of other issues where UK pilots lose out, I can't say on most other issues that CAA are supporting the UK industry/operators OR the flight crews. If CAA really do disagree with new FTLs., I am quite sure they have the brief to simply file an exception or difference, without us all writing to MEPs., etc who, I suspect, will neither understand or care what we are talking about. They will simply refer the matter back to the CAA - I suspect
