So the latest tactic is to claim other airlines are doing the same.
Particularly EK now is saying its rosters are comparable to US Regionals.
I am also surprised to see Sir Brigade linking Air India Express Mangalore incident to fatigue, when it was concluded as CRM issue where Captain(PF) ignored more experienced (with that tabletop airport)FO's repeated warnings. FO tried to recover but was too late.
Captain took a quick nap at some point during the 3 hour flight which was/is allowed per that CAA regulations.
According to rumor mill, that accident is one of the reasons Indian carriers avoid hiring expat pilots.