In July 2010, the U.S. Congress passed new legislation requiring airline personnel to have 1,500 hours of flight experience before becoming first officers on any commercial airliner. Prior to the passage of this bill, the FAA required first officers to have only 250 hours of experience. With the passage of this bill, first officers are now required to have the same level of training as captains. By requiring pilots to have more experience, the FAA hopes to reduce the risk of accidents due to pilot negligence, according to the Huffington Post.
As of September 2010, FAA rules state that no pilot may fly for more than 16 hours at a time and that each pilot must rest for eight hours between shifts. Lobbyists for the airline industry want the FAA to change the rules so that pilots on more taxing flights must fly less than 16 hours and pilots on less taxing flights may fly longer hours, according to the News Tribune.
The new legislation passed in September also requires airlines to implement a fatigue management plan. This plan would include scheduling flights in such a manner as to put the least stress on pilots and alerting the FAA when pilots risk fatigue due to flight schedule.
The FAA requires airlines to inform customers at the time of purchase if the flight will be operated by an affiliated commuter airline. This allows customers to make informed choices about air travel. Commuter airplanes may be riskier travel options than large airplanes, according to AirSafe.com, both because of their small size and because the FAA holds commuter airlines to different standards than larger airplanes.
