I applaud you for trying to expose the dark secrets of the commercial aviation industry, Paula. But the reality is most pilots are strictly prohibited from speaking to the press. Doing so can result in their termination. I wish you well in that quest to find the right individuals to expose the fact that many pilots are still out there flying tired.
I fly for a US legacy carrier. We have had our own issues of fatigue, however after a series of fatal accidents, and after demanding change for more than 30 years, the US regulators finally agreed to derive a science-based solution to fatigue mitigation. While not perfect, it's a step in the right direction. And it is aggressively enforced by US airline pilot unions. In short, if a pilot reports fatigue he is untouchable. That is, he will not lose pay and cannot be terminated. Not even the CEO can get involved.
By contrast, many of the middle eastern and Indian carriers don't have such a robust safety program. While the Indian carriers at least have pilot unions to protect the aviator from aggressive corporate management, in the case of a fatigue call, the pilots of the ME3 do not have such protections. Many fly tired as a result (I also suspect many Chinese carriers are this way but I have never flown for a carrier there so I don't know for certain. I have flown for Indian and ME carriers in the past though).
There has been a lot of press regarding the unfair advantage of the ME3 vs Western carriers. Most of that media coverage surrounds the fact that Western governments use taxpayer money to provide low interest loans to the ME3 carriers for aircraft procurement, while said middle eastern carriers enjoy state sponsorship for their enterprise. And while that is certainly a newsworthy topic, the real unfair advantage the ME3 have is their lack of adherence to modern safety standards regarding human factors. The use of indentured servitude contracts for air crews as well as Machiavelian management of said crews does indeed influence cockpit safety. This no doubt has an effect on whether a flight deck crewmemeber will feel obliged to call in fatigue or sick for a particular flight when he or she knows they need to in order to assure the safe operation of the flight. In the West, crewmembers follow a strict procedure and protocol for such an event. This forces airlines to staff the operation accordingly to account for a last minute fatigue call. Not so with the ME3 or some Asian carriers.
Prior to every departure, we are required to report fit for duty to our operations center. We take the report very seriously and 99.9% of the time we report fit, else why would we have even shown up for work. But sometimes a pilot feels sick, exhausted or some issues that will render him or her unfit for duty. We generally refer to that as a fatigue call. If I report fatigue for a particular flight I do so with professionalism and take into account the massive disruption it could cause my passengers and our operation. So it's not something done often or taken lightly. However, I think we can all agree that not one of those passengers would want me falling asleep on the approach and landing phase of the flight. So while it could be disruptive to their plans, pretty much everyone agrees safety is paramount. When I do report fatigue I am confident that I will not be financially punished for it nor will I face any discipline from my superiors. And the crew schedulers are well-trained in how to plan for such a scenario. They have a number of tools at their disposal to find a pilot to take over the flight, including available pilots in a ready reserve pool and pilots who show up on their computer screens as willing to volunteer for so-called "double-pay trips". As a result of a properly structured and planned system, most times the schedulers resolve a fatigue call with minimal to no delay. This is because we have collaboratively created this system as an industry. The pilot unions, the regulators and the company worked together to derive a mostly seamless fatigue risk mitigation system where a pilot removes himself from the dangerous proposition of flying tired yet the flying public never even knows what occurred. There is an inherent cost associated with this, additional manpower for one, but the result is a safer airline industry overall. I can honestly say it is for these reasons that I feel more confident as a passenger on a Western carrier vs that of other regions. Now I say that realizing that this will upset many pilots at other carriers but I can assure you they know what I'm referring to.
It's high time for the ME3 to be held to the same rigid rest standards that pilots in the West are held to. The flying public at least deserves a well-rested and situationally aware pilot at the controls. Competition is great. I welcome it. But just like Olympians are prohibited from using performance-enhancing drugs. All carriers should be held to the same standards with respect to pilot rest, fatigue, and whether that aviator is truly fit for flight.
Flying fatigued is equivalent to flying drunk. This is a fact.
Last edited by Geebz; 17th Sep 2016 at 01:22.