Well, OK, I should know better than to argue with a Drunk Irishman - so now to really muddy up the water:
49 Fed. Reg. 12,136, 12,136-7 (March 28, 1984). The
regulation allows a domestic airline "certificate holder" to
schedule, and a crewmember to accept, a flight assignment
only if the crewmember's total flight time does not exceed
yearly, monthly and weekly maximum flight time limitations.
14 C.F.R. s 121.471(a)(1)-(3). In addition, the regulation
establishes a maximum of eight hours of flight time between
"required rest periods." 14 C.F.R. s 121.471(a)(4). Pursuant
to subsection (b), during the twenty-four consecutive hours
preceding "the scheduled completion of any flight segment," a
crewmember must be scheduled for a rest period of at least
nine consecutive hours for eight hours or fewer of "scheduled
flight time"; ten consecutive hours of rest for more than eight
but fewer than nine hours of "scheduled flight time"; and
eleven hours of rest for nine or more hours of "scheduled
flight time." Id. s 121.471(b)(1)-(3). Subsection (c), however,
allows a carrier a measure of scheduling flexibility by way of
a "compensatory rest period." A required rest period of nine
hours may be "scheduled for or reduced to" a minimum of 8
hours if the crewmember is given compensatory rest of at
least ten hours "begin[ning] no later than 24 hours after the
commencement of the reduced rest period." Id.
s 121.471(c)(1).2 Compensatory rest, like required rest under
paragraph (b), may not be reduced or delayed under any
circumstances. See 14 C.F.R. s 121.471(e); see also 50 Fed.
Reg. at 29314 ("If a flight crewmember does not receive the
required number of hours of rest, the operator and the flight
crewmember are in violation of the regulation").3
2 Subsection (c)(2) provides that required rest under (b)(2)--ten
hours for between eight and nine hours of scheduled flight time--
may be reduced to a minimum of eight hours if the crewmember is
given a compensatory rest of at least eleven hours and (c)(3)
provides that required rest under (b)(3) may be reduced to eight
hours if compensatory rest of at least twelve hours begins no later
than twenty-four hours after commencement of the reduced rest
period. See 14 C.F.R. s 121.471(c)(2) & (3).
