Originally Posted by
turiel
Ok, thanks for the replies. I don't begrudge the pilots getting some rest, I understand as a rule they seem to always be overworked. I'd just never seen that happen before. Btw it was a 5hr30min flight so it's not like it was long-long haul.
Depending on where the pilot was flying to next, it may have warranted a "flat sleeping surface" which would trump a revenue passenger. For example my understanding of the most recent pilot contract is that if a LAX based 777 pilot was needed to fly a JFK-LHR trip he would be sent from LAX-JFK in at least J. My way of accepting these situations is preferring to land at my destination jet lagged, tired, and hangry than to be full and asleep as we smash into the Atlantic.
As Wrong or Flawed as it may be its saved me the anger or frustration that would start a trip on a bitter note. When I returned home an email to CS would be in order, but in transit I was never the person to want to test if that "flat sleeping surface" made a difference.