Rock stars and airline pilots share a common mantra: “Life on the road can be hell.”
As a newbie in the airline game, living at the bottom of the seniority list means trips and schedules that linger after the high-time guys get their picks. So, as a new three- or four-day trip is begun, here is the kind of pain those air carrier schedulers can inflict.
Show time on day one: 8:30 a.m. at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. You are up at 5 a.m. to catch the 6:30 a.m. nonstop from Des Moines (where you live) to Chicago.
The first leg, to Memphis, launches at 9:30 a.m. The return flight to Chicago gets in at 2:15 p.m. after a reasonable layover in Memphis, giving you enough time to slam down a pulled pork barbeque sandwich at Memphis Blues. Block in at 2:30 p.m. Figure four hours of total flight time round trip.
Next, sit in the operations center for two hours. Leave Chicago at 4:45 p.m. and arrive Green Bay at 6 p.m. The quick turn brings you back into Chicago at 7:30 p.m. Total flight time so far is, say, six and a half hours. You taxi out for the last flight to Minneapolis and go wheels up at 8:30 p.m. At 1.5 hours, you park it at the Minneapolis gate at 10 p.m., logging 1.5 hours. Total flight time for the day is eight hours.
The hotel van fetches you and the rest of the crew. You arrive about 10:30 p.m., when you finally end your duty day. But, before you turn in at 11 p.m., you check your day-two schedule. You are expected at the airport at 8 a.m. for the Minneapolis to Chicago trip, which means you will need to be up by 6:15 a.m. for the 7 a.m. airport van. Of course, you are wound up after a full day of flying, and it’s after midnight before you finally doze off. You’re lucky to get six hours of real sleep.
So, let’s review. You were up and at ’em in Des Moines for the commute into Chicago at 5 a.m. and hit the sack in the Minneapolis Holiday Inn at 11 p.m. You’ve been going for 16 hours. You clocked in for duty at 8:30 a.m. and ended duty for your airline at 10:30 p.m., giving you a day-one duty day of only 14 hours. Gosh! The company could have pushed you to the maximum of 16 hours on duty—life is good! And, you only flew eight hours on day one and got eight hours of rest to boot. And you get to do it all over again on day two.
A reasonable person would step back and say, “That’s a brutal way to make a living. Where’s the home life? Where’s the R&R at the end of the day?” It’s all legal based upon the longstanding time and duty regulations.
As a result of the Colgan disaster, the FAA has finally proposed some relief. The question remains to be answered: “Does it go far enough?”
Under the new rules, pilots would be required to enjoy nine hours off between shifts, and the clock would start when they reach the hotel. Typically, airlines start the “rest clock” 30 minutes after blocking in to the final destination of the day.
The proposed rule would bar pilots from working longer than 15 hours at a stretch, or one hour less than currently permitted. It would ensure that pilots get at least 30 hours of consecutive time off duty every seven days, which equates to 25 percent more than current requirements. The new regulation also would reduce work and flight hours even further for those who fly behind the clock, through multiple time zones, or many legs.
The new rules as proposed are being trumpeted as “groundbreaking” since they are based upon scientific research rather than the desires of the pilots and airlines.
However, the proposed regulations are curiously silent about commuting. After all, much was made of the commute times that allegedly contributed to the Colgan crew’s fatigue factor.
The ability to live in Colorado and be based in Chicago is one of the perks of flying for the airlines. It is a benefit that approaches sacred status, and it seems that the regulators and industry have decided to overlook that issue for the moment.
Also, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking completely avoids time and duty issues for some of the most abused aviators in the industry: the charter and air taxi pilot flying under Part 135 of the federal aviation regulations.
All in all, the proposals seem to be steps in the right direction. Time will tell.
Related Articles
