Completely false. I was a 777 driver for 5 yrs out in DXB. We flew back side of the clock just as much if not more than any Fedex driver. The largest departure bank out of DXB was between 0130-0300 local. Imagine back to back night turnarounds through the night to garden spots like Karachi, Tehran, get one day off to try to recover then depart at 0230 for that wonderful Lagos layover, or maybe a nice simulator support session (yes at 0230 as well, in uniform, hope you got a nap in cause it’s potentially a jeopardy event for you too)..... It was fairly manageable when we were doing 75 hrs and 15-12 days off a month when I first got there in 2012. By the time I left we were flying 95+hrs per month and 8-10 days off per month, mixture of short, medium, long and ultra long haul. Now I’m getting paid a lot more per hour spent at work back at a US LCC, never flying much past midnight, 15+ days off, schedule flexibility, “real” bidding and bidding transparency, not have to worry about the safety department or dealing with the ever present bone crushing fatigue. It takes most people several months to regain a circadian rythm after they leave.

With all the upcoming airline bankruptcies and layoffs with experienced long haul heavy drivers looking for work they will concentrate on sucking all of those candidates up once they hire again.