Economy
Related: About this forumAirlines Brace for New Rules on Pilot Rest Periods
New federal regulations governing pilot rest time and consecutive hours of flight took effect Saturday, leading airlines to brace for a potential increase in delays and cancellations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Pilots must have a minimum of 10 hours to rest between each shift, and eight of those hours must be uninterrupted sleep. Before, pilots could spend that time showering, eating or commuting between the airport and hotel.
Pilots will be limited to flying no more than eight or nine hours, depending on when their shift starts, and each week must have 30 consecutive hours of rest.
Regional pilots, who often have a more demanding schedule and tend to fly shorter segments at odd hours of day and night, have a "sliding-scale" of maximum hours and can be set as low as nine hours a day, a considerable drop from the previous max of 14.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/4/faa-rules-restrictingpilotflighttimerestbetweenflightstakeaffect.html
mn9driver
(4,428 posts)They are a small improvement in terms of providing better rest, but they are very complicated. There are apps that are supposed to help, but the potential for violations, fines and lost work is extremely high, even for pilots who are really trying hard to do it right.
It's not particularly popular among the pilot group.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)While I do not have any fear of flying whatsoever.. well landing at less than minimums in strong crosswinds can get my heart rate up a bit, I do question how long the cockpit crew of a regional aircraft has been flying that day when the last leg of a trip home is at mid-night.
Of course a crew that has been flying since 6 am could be just as tired by 6 pm as a crew landing at mid-night that started at noon...but darkness adds a little extra incentive to make mistakes when really tired..