Originally Posted by B6Guy
When I flew as an IRO in a heavy crew, it was ridiculous: you cannot 'rest' sitting in a seat with the paying customers, and you cannot 'rest' sitting in the cockpit jumpseat. The 'IRO' deal is a joke from my experience, especially if we are talking about only an extra hour or two. It is an FAA 'exercise' to look like it is safer, in reality it is not. The ICAO-ruled flights were easy.
B6Guy
I fly as an International relief pilot and even a short rest of an hour or two is a tremendous help with crew rest. Of course you need an appropriate crew rest area, or seat. One that lies flat, or nearly so, and has privacy curtains. I imagine that expense plus the third pilot makes it not worthwhile for anyone's transcon turns, not just jetBlue's.