On a particularly long flight, is there any downtime? If you’re in hour 4 of a 9 hour flight, what does that look like? How do you keep from getting bored?
Looking forward to the responses,
Adam
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Adam,
First off, a 9hr flight isn’t that long a flight but it is long enough.
The FAA regs require that any flight over 8hrs requires an additional pilot (aka Relief Officer). On those flights, the crew will divide the flight into 3 equal parts (deduct 30min on each end so let’s say 8hrs/3 = 2hr40min) and each pilot will get a 2:40 break. Planes that do long haul flying are therefore required to have a “rest area”. On some aircraft there’s actually bunks where you can sleep, on others there’s simply a layflat first class seat that’s curtained off.
On flights under 8hrs you just have to suck it up but there’s plenty to keep you busy (fuel scores, monitoring weather, position reports, etc).
Adam
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You do have opportunities for bathroom break, stretch legs, etc, I assume on flights, right? I work twelve hours shifts now and that’s all I get for breaks. Run to the toilet, scarf down some food during a lull in the action. Thanks for the insights.
Of course.
Adam