Quote:
Originally Posted by Han Solo
There is one in the ATL717 bid package, trip 3121, 1st time I've ever seen a red eye on the plane. Granted, it's only 2:43 block but the report is 0159 EST and it lands at 0542 EST, 12:23 dayover then 1 leg back to ATL that night. Total BS IMO, there's 0 chance of anybody effectively swapping sleep patterns like that on a 3 day trip. Hopefully the pilots fatigue out and teach Delta the error of their ways.
I strongly disagree with you. This is by far the safest of the three types of redeyes I've flown--I'm serious, by the way, not joking.
Type 1. This is the most common, where you finish a trip with a redeye from the west coast. Nothing like the "joy" of a far longer redeye than in your example, all to drive home in rush hour ATL traffic to a busy household. I actually found myself pulling off into a parking lot on the side of the road to get a catnap to avoid falling asleep at the wheel.
Type 2. Redeye in the middle of the trip, with a 24 hour layover to an early report on day 3. Total BS, unsafe, and truly does mess with the body clock.
Type 3 (your example). Redeye in the middle of the trip, but you depart that night...kind of like the same departure time as your previous day.
In either case, wouldn't you rather ride the hotel shuttle on the company's time, and sleep in the hotel away from the household busy stuff, versus trying to avoid falling asleep at the wheel on the drive home? That's why I try to avoid all redeyes.
Also, check out the LAX 73N bid package as an example. They have and always have had many of these types of trips. In fact many of their trips start with a late report and immediately begin with a redeye. "Unsafe?" Probably not. I'll bet the commuters love them in fact. The very example you are lamenting is ops normal for that category, every day, multiple pairings.