Captain James Courtney:

Deputy Dooley raised the question of why it should be from the calendar year. That is very much lined up with whatever leave arrangements pilots or cabin crew have. If the holiday period is from 1 April to 31 March, which happens in many airlines, the airlines also do the 1,000 hours, or the 900 hours that currently exist, in that period to line that up and make sure it works nicely. It is important to point out that this new 1,000 hour limit is a welcome development that will take out some of the anomalies that exist with the current arrangements. Again, this is a further protection that the EASA has built in to the new regulations. It is important to point out that the new regulations are very much focused on the issue of fatigue and fatigue management. Any new changes that were introduced were intended to tighten up that area.