Originally Posted by
8420PR
But no European airline now has a 2-in-cockpit rule, so would you not fly in Europe at all?
Are you sure about that? I prefer to approach this is a "procedure" and not as a "rule". Prior to the rush to embrace the "rule", the procedure of many airlines was to have 2 people in place as much as possible. Ryanair was one of the airlines that had a n internal rule to that effect and to the best of my knowledge still does. I don't know if BA has changed back yet. I suppose if Willy Walsh can save money he will, but until then it's as is. And just to be a smartass, the Russians still have a 2 person requirement. (Not in the EU, but in Europe aren't they?) I don't know if KLM has switched back.
To be honest, I don't fly much within Europe on airlines other than AF/KLM and I suppose I shouldn't mention safety in the same breath or criticize the *A airlines in comparison.
I noticed this comment;
Some people have to wrap their mind around the fact, that you will never ever create 100% safety. There is always a risk. Understood. However, when I think of the Qantas flight 32 with the catastrophic engine failure. There were 5 pilots in the cockpit at the time, 2 of whom were check pilots, and they were all used for the safe resolution of this crisis. I also think of BA flight 5390 where the captain was sucked out of the airplane when the windshield failed. All very rare events, but, they did occur.