Originally Posted by
JungleBus
That's pretty much what I was assuming when they came out. Increase productivity. They do, and if it wasn't for the safety issues with the longer ones and under IROPS, the pilot group would have likely welcomed them. I think just a few too many of us flew them in previous lives and were pretty familiar with the potential downside, and that caught the MEC a bit surprised.
Jungle,
I agree, but if we could be guaranteed 5:30 behind the door I would be back to packing a tooth brush in an instant.
You are right (the force is strong with this one folks) that IROPS are the rub. A diversion with a night on the airplane isn't unheard of among the operators who fly this sort of thing. (and how would I know that the forward cargo net on an ATR makes a great hammock?)