First of all, I am not an “embittered” airline employee, so don’t characterize me. My whole point is that you are so concerned with pilots being able to commute for “free” and that practice should be stopped to ensure pilots are reporting for duty rested. What I am trying to convey to you is that commuting pilots are NOT the problem. It is the archaic rest and duty rules that are the real issue. And now, as usual, congress wants to apply a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not exist.

You site the Colgan crash. Those pilots could have been the best rested pilots ever, and the result would have still been the same. They were inexperienced and poorly trained pilots. Yes, fatigue could definitely be considered a contributing factor, but not the causal factor. Do you know how long the Colgan pilot’s had been on duty the day of the crash?

If you ever take the time to read the transcripts of the that accident you will notice that the pilots reacted completely inaccurately to their situation. As Jeff Skiles (the First Officer on the USAirways Hudson flight) has eluded to, these pilots were victims along with the rest of the passengers. Their training was inadequate and their experience level lacking. Those pilots were put into a situation they were not prepared for. Rest or no rest, you don’t pull back on the yoke when your plane is going to stall, you certainly don’t override the stick pusher when it is trying to recover from a stall, and you definitely don’t retract the flaps when you are trying to regain lift.

And you are still way off base thinking that “commuting patterns are an enabler of these ultra-low wages.” The supply of pilots will not disappear if commuting is not allowed. There will always be a long line of pilots ready to jump at the chance to fly a large turboprop or jet. They are young and they can withstand the low wages because they feel it will ultimately lead to a job with a major airline with better wages. Why do you think the wages are still so low? It’s certainly not due to the fact that pilots get to commute for free.

Carl,
You seem to be concerned with the “free” travel that pilots get instead of the real issue of fatigue. I can assure you it is not that wonderful free travel that is causing low pay. For many pilots, that travel “benefit” is a negotiated item in their contract. That means to get than benefit, something else was given up. And if you think that by pilots giving this up would force airlines to pay higher salaries and open bases in lower cost cities, then you have no grasp of this industry whatsoever. You make it sound like every pilot commutes. Keep in mind, most pilots live near the cities they are based in. So they report for duty well rested right? Why is that fatigue is still an issue then?
You are correct that pilots do have the responsibility and duty to report for work rested. And a majority of the time that happens. But you don’t seem too concerned with the issue of fatigue after starting that first duty period. Once they get to work well rested and ready to fly, it’s then okay for a pilot to work 16 hours with only 8 hours of rest before they are required to go back and fly the same amount of hours the very next day? I guess if you make pilots cease that “free” commuting then you just better cross your fingers that you are flying on the first day of a pilot’s trip. Because that may be the only day they are well rested.

Rich,

You seem like an embittered airline employee. Don’t characterize my concerns for me.

I want a rested pilot in the cockpit of my commercial flight. I want the pilot to be rested on his first day of duty and I want him rested each day. Both commute rules and the on-duty/rest rules are needed to ensure this.

I think the evidence is that we cannot expect that the industry and labor groups are going to come up with voluntary rules, and outside intervention is going to be required.

If the rules covering duty time need to be amended, then let’s get to it.

As far as I can tell there are no rules whatsoever for commuting. Even if most pilots commute reponsibly, we obviously have some that do not, so we must put rules in place that prohibit the kind of commuting that occurred prior to the Colgan crash – by both pilots in that case. 50 souls might have been saved if the pilots had properly been rested.

I don’t disagree that many of these pilots are underpaid – and I don’t know how that gets addressed in the long run, but these commuting patterns are an enabler of these ultra-low wages. Some of the supply of pilots will disappear if they don’t have free communting, and that is a start in addressing wages.

No, it wouldn’t make things substantially safer. When the FAA concentrates on changing flight time and duty rules, then that will make things safer.

Carl,
You seem to be concerned with the “free” travel that pilots get instead of the real issue of fatigue. I can assure you it is not that wonderful free travel that is causing low pay. For many pilots, that travel “benefit” is a negotiated item in their contract. That means to get than benefit, something else was given up. And if you think that by pilots giving this up would force airlines to pay higher salaries and open bases in lower cost cities, then you have no grasp of this industry whatsoever. You make it sound like every pilot commutes. Keep in mind, most pilots live near the cities they are based in. So they report for duty well rested right? Why is that fatigue is still an issue then?

You are correct that pilots do have the responsibility and duty to report for work rested. And a majority of the time that happens. But you don’t seem too concerned with the issue of fatigue after starting that first duty period. Once they get to work well rested and ready to fly, it’s then okay for a pilot to work 16 hours with only 8 hours of rest before they are required to go back and fly the same amount of hours the very next day? I guess if you make pilots cease that “free” commuting then you just better cross your fingers that you are flying on the first day of a pilot’s trip. Because that may be the only day they are well rested.

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