DAL, JBLU, and HAL not reporting on-time data

[clickclickboom]

No, he wasn't a relief pilot and they didn't rotate assignments, these flights were not operated in a manner similar to a long haul international flight.

PAGE ONE Pilot-Fatigue Test Lands JetBlue
In Hot Water

Airline Pushed FAA Limits
On Cockpit Time but Failed To Tell Passengers on Planes
By ANDY PASZTOR and SUSAN CAREY
October 21, 2006

Last year, thousands of JetBlue Airways passengers became unwitting participants in a highly unusual test of pilot fatigue.
Without seeking approval from Federal Aviation Administration headquarters, consultants for JetBlue outfitted a small number of pilots with devices to measure alertness. Operating on a green light from lower-level FAA officials, management assigned the crews to work longer shifts in the cockpit -- as many as 10 to 11 hours a day -- than the eight hours the government allows. Their hope: Showing that pilots could safely fly far longer without exhibiting ill effects from fatigue.
The results of the test haven't yet been made public -- they are expected to be published by the end of the year -- and JetBlue executives say even they don't know the findings. But the experiment has landed JetBlue in hot water while fueling a fierce debate within the airline industry about how long pilots should be allowed to stay at the controls.
At a time when every airline is itching to cut costs, squeezing more flying time from pilots has become a huge financial issue for carriers. But it is also a hot topic for regulators: The National Transportation Safety Board has cited pilot fatigue as an increasingly important factor in aviation accidents.
It has been nearly 18 months since the novel experiment, but the test -- along with the FAA's ultimate conclusion that it amounted to a backdoor effort to skirt safety rules -- continues to roil parts of the aviation world. Senior FAA officials, angered by the move, privately say the airline's approach has backfired. Because of heightened emotions about the test, proposals to extend the workday for commercial pilots have been pushed even further down the list of priorities at the FAA, they say.
FAA headquarters heard about the test from pilot-union officials and their supporters. When the head office "became aware that JetBlue operated some domestic flights outside the standard rules, we immediately investigated and took corrective action," said James Ballough, head of flight standards for the agency. Mr. Ballough says officials are "confident that JetBlue's pilots are flying to the FAA's rules" now.
Another high-ranking FAA policy maker expressed his displeasure more bluntly: "We don't allow experiments with passengers on board, period."
The airline says it never intended to mislead anyone at the FAA, and the JetBlue spokeswoman chalked the situation up to "a miscommunication," though, she says, in retrospect the company understands "we have to widen the circle of consultation." JetBlue said: "Safety is our bedrock value. It is the fundamental promise we make, and keep, to our customers and crew members."
The spokeswoman says there were no in-flight emergencies during the test period, and safety was never compromised because a third pilot was always on board to take the controls if needed. The JetBlue pilots who participated in the experiment volunteered for the assignment.
The concept of measuring second-by-second reactions of JetBlue pilots in everyday flight conditions was championed by Mark Rosekind, a well-known sleep researcher who previously has worked as a consultant for a number of large U.S. and foreign carriers.
JetBlue looked to Mr. Rosekind and his Cupertino, Calif., consulting firm, Alertness Solutions, to help sell the data-gathering idea to regulators. The overall plan was laid out in early 2005 for the FAA's district office in New York, which is responsible for overseeing the New York-based carrier's operations and its 1,500 pilots. That office expressed support for the plan.
The two-pilot crews were equipped with specially designed motion detectors on their wrists to measure activity, and participated in tests with hand-held computing devices that issued random prompts and then recorded the speed of responses. All told, JetBlue says 29 pilots, including the backup aviators, participated in more than 50 data-gathering flights during May 2005. All of the flights were domestic, and a big portion were coast-to-coast trips.
The carrier says it proceeded under the assumption that local FAA officials had the power to approve the company's plans under so-called supplemental flight rules. Those rules specify that airlines flying longer distances must have at least one extra pilot on board so no single pilot flies more than eight hours in total. However, in the JetBlue test, even though each flight had a third pilot on board, the original crews stayed at the controls for more than 10 hours a day. None of the reserve pilots ever replaced a regular crew member.
"Passengers would be shocked that this was going on," says David Stempler, president of Air Travelers Association, an advocacy group for travelers. When travelers "buy tickets on commercial flights, they don't expect to be test pilots themselves."

Your information is wrong.. The rest bunks were sealy posturepedic with pillow tops, high thread count egyptian cotton sheets and down pillows.

That information conveniently didnt make it into your quoted article.. The relief pilots were in rest in above mentioned row 1-3 pilot rest bunk section

 

[FDJ2]

Your information is wrong.. The rest bunks were sealy posturepedic with pillow tops, high thread count egyptian cotton sheets and down pillows.

That information conveniently didnt make it into your quoted article.. The relief pilots were in rest in above mentioned row 1-3 pilot rest bunk section

Got it! Thanks for the clarification. Jokes on me. :0

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[BLUE BAYOU]

I wonder what customers would think about guys and gals flying for their first time on IOE on revenue flights? OMG!

 

[BLUE BAYOU]

And what is DL's management doing? If you're going to bash, please bash fairly...[/quote

Absolutely nothing, well except changing block times. All of my JFK flights next month were increased by up to 1 hr for next month example: JFK-AUS was 4:40 now it is 5:20. Increasing block times does nothing but mask the problem.

Yeah, and they do this every winter for the winds, duh! Hence the overnights in Cancun instead of the turns as well... and according to my poor math, that's just 40 minutes, not an hour in your example...

 

[Headfake14]

yep...