I work for a 'regional' carrier on the CRJ. I certainly wouldn't mind the 'Big Brother' aspect to the training standards oversight. After all, we are flying the routes of our partner carrier under their brand name. I don't think it's unreasonable at all for the customers to expect that their crews are all trained to the same high standard, regardless of who provides the seat they are sitting on.

The thing that scares me more is the idea that pilots would take something like Ambien or any other sleep aid at the behest of the company. That's far more 'Big Brother' in my eyes and totally inappropriate.

I'd much rather see prohibitions on trips that have the first two days with 4 AM showtimes and the next couple days with 5 PM showtimes, flying until midnight or later.

I've got trips like that all month with 24+ hour layovers to get us to the afternoon shifts. Nobody can tell me that these shifts in rest period and the odd sleep pattern it creates is healthy or safe. I'd far rather see regulations preventing BS scheduling than suggestions we take sleep aid drugs to help out large corporations.