Okay - well first off, I guarantee you this policy is not the brain child of whoever happens to be sitting behind the coordination desk handing out sleep room keys. Maybe you've gotten some push back in the past from a particular individual, but that's not this. This appears to be coming from Flt Ops management.
Originally Posted by
Dakota
Actually, it's not excessive. 16 hours vs. 12 hours in this situation makes no difference. On the average, a pilot who jumpseats in the afternoon prior to his international departure is probably going to get there around noon. For the afternoon turn there are plenty of sleep rooms, and from what I've seen very few pilots are actually using them for rest. Usually it's a place to park their bags or change clothes for a few hours (exercise).
The new policy specifically prohibits using sleep rooms to change and "park bags".
I understand your point about 12 vs 16 hours and I agree a 12-hour limit doesn't solve the problem. I'm sure I'll get spears over this but, I guess my attitude is that we (777 guys) shouldn't be grabbing a room at 12 or 16 hours out and thereby denying a domestic hub-turner a sleep room when he commutes in at midnight or between flights. Maybe some will think that's not fair but the sleep rooms weren't meant to be a crash pad. IMO, the folks doing night hub turns should get first crack at them and there's no way to make that happen if we're getting an 8-12 hour head start. If you happen to depart on a low volume night (holiday, weekend, etc), then have at it.
We either police ourselves or as you mentioned, it might get done for us. If I end up on my back-up plan, have to commute on our PM j/s and arrive 5-hours before my NRT departure, I'd like the option to get a sleep room. It would be nice if that option wasn't taken away because of a blanket policy against int'l flyers.