Some Christmas 🎄 surprises show up later than expected.
It looks like this year I will be spending New Year's Eve out of base.
But how do pilots or cabin crew know their schedule? And does their schedule ever change? Let's discover this together!
According to regulations, flight crew schedules should be published at least 14 days before the end of the month. So, for example, we can find out our schedule for January only on the 17th of December (yes.. it can go as late as midnight 🙃!). The roster is usually published on an online platform (also available as an app),accessible to crewmembers. (I.e: FRRoster, ecrew etc)
It happens often that the initial rosters get multiple modifications so we never know for sure when and where we will fly next.
Let's consider a standard 5 days on/4 days off roster. Although fatigue 😴 risk managers fight hard to balance the roster and distribute the workload as much as practicable, it is not rare to start a series with a very early flight (3-4 in the morning) and finish it with a very long duty, ending at midnight.
Amongst these 5 duty days, there are some stand by's, where crew can be assigned uncovered flight. The crew is expected to report in the briefing room within 60 minutes from the initial call, fully fit and prepared for the flight. Moreover, destinations and sector numbers can be changed at any time, as long as they comply with the maximum flight duty limitations criteria and don't infringe on the applicable regulations.
Some airlines assign even airport standbys. The purpose of these is to always have spare crew in the Crewroom, prepared to replace another (unfit or late) crew in case of immediate need. In theory, airlines should be fully prepared to fight disruptions to ensure the continuation of their service, so sufficient standby's are required daily.
There are also some other times, where due to a lack of crew in a particular base, pilots and cabin crew have to be sent to perform flights out of their original base. This requires a high degree of readiness from the crew to take any duty and be ready to jump on the plane ✈️to travel abroad for as much as one week. It is an opportunity to meet new colleagues, relax in a hotel (especially if it has also a pool or a sauna!) and get familiar with a new base.
From a pilot's perspective, if the destinations are already familiar, there is not much change, especially when the colleagues are supportive and eager to promote their base in the best possible way.
If time allows, some nice activities can be visiting the city and its landmarks, enjoying some nice traditional foods and relaxing as much as practicable. At the end, travelling out of base is a great experience that allows some time for relaxation and self-development :) ✨🧘♀️
Comments