Narrative:

Just wanted to alert you to a heck of a fatigue issue that needs to be addressed. As you may know; the flight has recently undergone a radical shift from a [midday] report/takeoff time to a [late night] report/takeoff. This later start time has a huge impact on crew fatigue and safety because of far 117's mandatory 2 hours of rest in the last half of the flight for the pilot flying (PF). In order for the PF to get the far 117 required rest; the pilot flying now has to stay up all night against their normal sleep rhythm (using whatever amounts of caffeine and/or sugar necessary in order to stay awake); then try to sleep when their body clock says they should be awake (fighting whatever amounts of caffeine and/or sugar they had just ingested in order to stay awake); then land the aircraft in any kind of weather/mechanical conditions with a language barrier after bouncing around that no-sleep/sleep cycle. You could not produce a better recipe for fatigue and poor decision making if you tried. I am now flying ZZZ1 - ZZZ2; so let me give you an example of the problem. Foreseeing this issue; I attempted to contact [the] captain via company email. This is the first time I have flown with [this] captain and I gave him my opinion of the rest situation; asking him if he would like to be PF on the way over or PF on the way back. He said he would fly the ZZZ1-ZZZ2 leg; since he was new to the 787 and wanted to land in ZZZ2. I informed [the] captain I would be taking first break to stay on my normal sleep pattern and; after a short discussion pro/con; he agreed; and I told him I would be calling the international relief officer's to let them know so they could plan their rest. Since he was the senior international relief officer I first called [another] international relief officer; informed him that I would be taking first break; and since he was the senior international relief officer he could pick which break he wanted. [The] first officer (first officer) was upset by my call; saying normal procedure was to give 3 days notice of a change in breaks; which; I had never heard of and is impractical; as shown by the other international relief officer dropping the trip. Upon arrival in ZZZ1; [the] captain informed me that [the] first officer had instead called him and expressed his strong disagreement with my decision; asked for my side of the story; and asked why I did not want to take second break; as is normally done. I reminded him of our previous conversation that as pilot monitoring (pm) I was allowed to take my break at any time I wanted; and that I believed it would be unsafe for both of us to stay awake all night against our normal body clocks and that it would be safer for me to sleep at my normal time; thus my decision to take first break. I informed [the] captain that I had given the first officer 34 hours of notice of my intentions and; unless he told me not to; I intended to stay with my plan of taking first break. [The] captain and I discussed other options; including split breaks; but ultimately decided to keep the original plan of me taking first break; while [the] captain took second. Shortly after completing our discussion [the] first officer arrived and; attempting to clear the air; I asked if there was anything we need to discuss about the breaks and he said no. We then proceeded to execute the ZZZ1 - ZZZ2 flight. As planned; I took first break; going to the bunk only a little past my normal domestic bedtime. I woke a little earlier than my normal non-work wakeup but I felt well rested. I relieved [the] first officer and was briefed by [the] captain who informed me that he felt very fatigued after staying up all night against his normal sleep pattern. Upon returning to the flight deck after his break [the] captain said he had not been able to get any good rest; which was not unexpected; and showed considerable evidence of fatigue; including sleep inertia; poor comprehension; and attention. The arrival into ZZZ2 was uneventful and despite his fatigue and newness to the aircraft; [the] captain flew a good approach in VFR conditions. I believe far 117 is wrong mandating that the PF take their 2 hours of rest in the last half of the flight; and the new ZZZ1 - ZZZ2 leg is a perfect example of why there should be some flexibility and allow the pilots to schedule themselves.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier First Officer reported a disagreement with the FAR Part 117 requirement for long haul flights as it pertains to required rest breaks.

Narrative: Just wanted to alert you to a heck of a fatigue issue that needs to be addressed. As you may know; the flight has recently undergone a radical shift from a [midday] report/takeoff time to a [late night] report/takeoff. This later start time has a huge impact on crew fatigue and safety because of FAR 117's mandatory 2 hours of rest in the last half of the flight for the Pilot Flying (PF). In order for the PF to get the FAR 117 required rest; the Pilot Flying now has to stay up all night against their normal sleep rhythm (using whatever amounts of caffeine and/or sugar necessary in order to stay awake); then try to sleep when their body clock says they should be awake (fighting whatever amounts of caffeine and/or sugar they had just ingested in order to stay awake); then land the aircraft in any kind of weather/mechanical conditions with a language barrier after bouncing around that no-sleep/sleep cycle. You could not produce a better recipe for fatigue and poor decision making if you tried. I am now flying ZZZ1 - ZZZ2; so let me give you an example of the problem. Foreseeing this issue; I attempted to contact [the] Captain via company email. This is the first time I have flown with [this] Captain and I gave him my opinion of the rest situation; asking him if he would like to be PF on the way over or PF on the way back. He said he would fly the ZZZ1-ZZZ2 leg; since he was new to the 787 and wanted to land in ZZZ2. I informed [the] Captain I would be taking first break to stay on my normal sleep pattern and; after a short discussion pro/con; he agreed; and I told him I would be calling the IRO's to let them know so they could plan their rest. Since he was the senior IRO I first called [another] IRO; informed him that I would be taking first break; and since he was the senior IRO he could pick which break he wanted. [The] First Officer (FO) was upset by my call; saying normal procedure was to give 3 days notice of a change in breaks; which; I had never heard of and is impractical; as shown by the other IRO dropping the trip. Upon arrival in ZZZ1; [the] Captain informed me that [the] FO had instead called him and expressed his strong disagreement with my decision; asked for my side of the story; and asked why I did not want to take second break; as is normally done. I reminded him of our previous conversation that as Pilot Monitoring (PM) I was allowed to take my break at any time I wanted; and that I believed it would be unsafe for both of us to stay awake all night against our normal body clocks and that it would be safer for me to sleep at my normal time; thus my decision to take first break. I informed [the] Captain that I had given the FO 34 hours of notice of my intentions and; unless he told me not to; I intended to stay with my plan of taking first break. [The] Captain and I discussed other options; including split breaks; but ultimately decided to keep the original plan of me taking first break; while [the] Captain took second. Shortly after completing our discussion [the] FO arrived and; attempting to clear the air; I asked if there was anything we need to discuss about the breaks and he said No. We then proceeded to execute the ZZZ1 - ZZZ2 flight. As planned; I took first break; going to the bunk only a little past my normal domestic bedtime. I woke a little earlier than my normal non-work wakeup but I felt well rested. I relieved [the] FO and was briefed by [the] Captain who informed me that he felt very fatigued after staying up all night against his normal sleep pattern. Upon returning to the flight deck after his break [the] Captain said he had not been able to get any good rest; which was not unexpected; and showed considerable evidence of fatigue; including sleep inertia; poor comprehension; and attention. The arrival into ZZZ2 was uneventful and despite his fatigue and newness to the aircraft; [the] Captain flew a good approach in VFR conditions. I believe FAR 117 is wrong mandating that the PF take their 2 hours of rest in the last half of the flight; and the new ZZZ1 - ZZZ2 leg is a perfect example of why there should be some flexibility and allow the pilots to schedule themselves.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.