Originally Posted by
PurpleToolBox
Another example of WTF??? The MD-11 pilots use a gym mat, thrown onto the floor, as a crew rest facility. That's not a joke. The pilots on the few MD11s without a sleeper bunk, on long haul flights, have a mattress similar to a gymnasium mat that is laid onto the dirty floor that they sleep on in the courier area of the airplane. How in the world was that ever deemed acceptable?
There is no FAR requirement for any kind of sleep/rest facility on an aircraft scheduled for over 8 and less than 12. JetBlue let their RFOs lay on the floor in the back of their A320s. Other major airlines just took a business class seat (long before the days of lay flat) or a row of three coach seats and offered them up as a way for the additional crew member to grab a nap. None of those options are a perfect solution but the bottom line is that the FARs require nothing so anything these companies do is gravy.