Southwest Airlines pilot union says fatigue is 'number-one' safety threat

The airline must still schedule crews based on FAA laws and union contracts, it is up to each crewmen to get the rest required during their time off! If crews are maxing out their duty times the airline must not use that person. It's spelled out clearly in part 121 regs. It sounds to me the airline needs to hire more reserve pilots to cover.

Giving a percentage without any numbers is the same as lying! If I give you 600% times what I have in my wallet for your car how much is that? If I have a dollar that is far less than if I have $500. But since I do not tell you, as in this article, it is completely misleading!!

pilots are scheduled ,as are flight attendants,to a minimum and maximum number of flight hours per month..these times are based on generally a 75-80 hour amount of time per month,with each trip time beginning the computer sign in, and ending with the block time..it does not include the layover time, nor travel to and from the airport..that also is why delays due to weather often cause trips to be cancelled because it entails the crew sitting and waiting after a scheduled departure..my pojnt is, if a crew is fatigued, its NOT due to how the airline operates as they have rules and regulations from the the FAA and their unions,and the fatigue might just be caused from not "resting" on that layover, which can be as little as 10 hours (just enough time to catch the shuttle and some sleep before turning around,or a 3 day where there is time for rest and a little fun..i worked with a lot of them and i have heard the stories,good and bad and in between!!

but, let's not worry about the mechanic who is truly there to ensure the safety and airworthiness of the airplane, and gets paid at pennies on the dollar to the glorifies chauffeurs