FAA is coming to the sand

[cerbus]

Have you heard the latest? The FAA is coming next month to investigate the GCAA and their practices. What this means for Emirates is that the factoring is over and they will have to hire 1100 pilots and not 750. Anyone out there once you apply you are almost guaranteed to be hired.
But hold the phone. Recruitment department says that they can only get 350 pilots for the fiscal year. What to do?
Emirates is trying to rush the double dailes to IAH and LAX before the FAA comes and stops the new flights. Can the airline that does not honour contracts and treats its employees like a commodity pull this one off?
AAR is to blame for not hiring pilots the last year but that is assuming that the pilots would have come anyway. Only pilots I know that are coming are the ones out of jobs.
The company has already cancelled leave in October. It is just begining.

[flareflyer]

Where did you find that they cancelled leave?

[Wizofoz]

cerbus,

Why would an authority that allows 1200hrs a year and 120 hours in 28 days come down on one that allows 900 (which could be maybe 1000+ with factoring) a year and 100 in 28 days?

We are working unsustainably hard and it must be addressed, but we could be legally working much harder under FAA regs.

I am under no illusion as to how bad GCAA regs are. The illusory part is thinking there aren't major free world countries in which the regs are even worse.

[etops777]

1200 hours/year and 120/30 is for Part 135 carrier. All of the Part 121 Carrier is 1000/year and 100/30 and no factoring allowed.

Korean actually had the factoring back around in the 90s but that was corrected by the FAA.

[moredrag]

It could be other way around, money works in mysterious ways!!!!

FAA praises GCAA in maintaining high level of safety
A high-level delegation from the Federal Aviation Administration of U.S. (FAA) visited the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in Dubai to discuss the latest developments of civil aviation sector.
The FAA delegation was represented by David Grizzle, the chief counsel and deputy administrator for the FAA, accompanied by Roy Barnett, senior representative of the Middle East office. The GCAA was presented by Dr. Ahmed Sheikh, Director of Legal Affairs, Ismail Al Balooshi, Director of Safety of Civil Aviation, and Captain David John Chapman, Senior Advisor for Aviation Safety in GCAA.
Both delegations discussed the cooperation in the field of aviation safety and legal affairs related to aviation safety in the country. Ismail Al Balooshi briefed the U.S. delegation on the expansion of the UAE aviation sector and the growth plans of the national carriers and aircraft maintenance and manufacturing companies.
The U.S. delegation valued the role of GCAA in maintaining the high level of safety the UAE praised the Middle East Safety Aviation Roadmap chaired by UAE to identify weaknesses and recommend enhancements in air safety in Middle East. - Emirates News Agency, WAM

[CanadaRocks]

It probable has something to do with Etihad. One landing on the edge lights in NY, and another A346 pulling into the gate with 1900kgs of fuel.

Only rumours!

[Wizofoz]

1200 hours/year and 120/30 is for Part 135 carrier. All of the Part 121 Carrier is 1000/year and 100/30 and no factoring allowed.


True, meaning the FAA somehow thinks regional jet pilots can sfely be more fatigued than domestic airline pliots.

Fact remains that FAA regs are generally less restrictive than GCAA.

It would be great if they boned factoring, but I'm not holding my breath.

[GlueBall]

. . . What sort of jurisdiction do you think that American FAA has over "A6" registered airplanes? What sort of jurisdiction do you think that American FAA has over UAE flight duty regulations...? Is the UAE the 51ST state of the United States....?

For example: FAA 121 [air carrier ops] has a provision for 1000 hours annually. But JAA regs have a maximum of only 900 hours annually.

Do you think that JAA/EU ops regulators would have jurisdiction over "N" registered airplanes, and could or would ban FAA 121 air carrier pilots from operating into EU if they were to exceed 900 hours annually according to EU ops rules...?

Do you think that the American FAA is the international aerial police...? :confused:

[kotakota]

The land of palms............greasy ones that is.............

[JungleJett]

Not true my down under friend.
Regionals in the U.S also under Part 121. So 1000 hours/year and 100/30 applies also to them.

Cheers

[Jeffdh17]

The hosting country has to give approval for an aircraft's arrival. Some countries aren't allowed to fly aircraft into the U.S.A. because they have poor standards and poor safety records.

Approvals can be granted and taken away from countries if their standards improve or worsen. So it is possible that the FAA could pressure a country to tighten their standards or risk losing their ability to fly into the U.S. market.

[Wizofoz]

Not true my down under friend.
Regionals in the U.S also under Part 121. So 1000 hours/year and 100/30 applies also to them.

Cheers



Thanks JJ, I stand corrected.

So who does part 135 apply to?

Also, the 1000/ yr, 100/30 applies to US DOMESTIC operations. What part applies to international operations?

[CAVnotOK]

I think Part 135 applies to Air Taxi, whatever TF that actually means. Can anyone else explain??

Cav.

[Avpilot]

Part 135 is for air taxi, a.k.a. charter flights. Example: A charter company with a couple of lears and a G-550 that seek customers on a per-hour basis to charter the whole aircraft. This isn't the only example, but is the most common type of 135 carrier.

Part 121 is for airlines. Example: American Airlines, Delta, Comair, ExpressJet, etc.

Part 91 is for general aviation flying, i.e. non-commercial.

There are others, but those are the 3 main chapters regulating flight operations.

Tim

[Neptunus Rex]

On a lighter note:
Director of Legal Affairs, Ismail Al BalooshiSounds like a Stunt Double for one of the Blues Brothers!

"How much for your children?"

[ekairbus]

Emirates may fall into a (FAA) class which only allows it to increase service to an existing US destination (LAX/IAH).

[Panther 88]

The FAA does not have any authority to limit a foreign carriers (re. regulating authority) access to the US. It can only deem the regulatory authority (GCAA) a CAT 1, CAT 2 or worse. So, when a foreign carrier (EK, EY or any other) operating under a regulatory authority (GCAA) that has been downgraded to CAT 2 wants to increase their service, enter a new US market or whatever, the FAA can only recommend to the DOT (Department of Transportation) not to approve the increase in service. It is the DOT that is the final decision maker in foreign carrier access to the US. Does the DOT always follow the FAA's recommendations? Don't know. Would there be any politics involved such as the UAE allowing US military access to their waters, airspace etc? Now it goes a lot deeper than whether or not the FAA approves factoring or such. OTOH, the conflict of interest in the Sheik's involvement in EK AND the GCAA might have some interest.

Just some further info of flt time duty time regs. Any flight time over 8 hours 50+ per cent is required to always have a 3 crew augmentation. No relief until an audit has been accomplished. 12 hours? Always 4 crew. Jet Blue tried to do a transcon from east coast to west coast and back in one day with only two crew. They thought they had relief....bad ju ju. Cease the operation immediately. Only relates to aircraft with only 2 pilots.

[mutt]

Foreign airlines operating into the USA operate under FAR129..... :):)

Mutt

[411A]

Foreign airlines operating into the USA operate under FAR129.....



Yup, sure do, and that specific authority is granted to each individual foreign air carrier, IE: EK, SV, EY etc.
The FAA is also on the lookout for one specific small air carrier that is operating US flagged aircraft, with no legit lease arrangements, nor maintenance programs, on file.
Big time trouble awaits these folks...for sure.

[Escape Velocity]

Unlike the EU, who focuses more on individual airlines - its "black list" - the FAA focuses on the country's regulatory authority's ability to oversee their airlines. They inspect the GCAA/DGCA/ENAC etc. Basically the FAA looks at how well they are enforcing the local rules. They will not, except in extreme cases, look at individual regs, so the feds don't care, for example, how many hours are being flown per year unless the GCAA is looking the other way while the regs are being broken. The feds are not there to impose their rules on the locals, just as a US pilot is not hammered upon landing in the EU with over 900 hours this year in his logbook.

If this were all there was to it, life would be good. Unfortunately politics has to have its say. For an agency who in theory has a mandate to be above politics to promote safety, the FAA is probably one of the worst offenders of allowing politics and economics to triumph over safety and common sense. A country's category rating will have more to do with its importance to the US govt. than its airline safety stats.

I was in Venezuela in 2006 when the country was upgraded from Cat. 2 to Cat. 1. This had nothing to do with safety, security, and oversight. It seems that a large US airline wanted more frequency into CCS and had been getting the finger by the Venezuelan govt. Politics wins out and voila, now they are magically a Cat. 1 country. I can attest personally that absolutely nothing improved there to warrant the upgrade. The real fallout was borne by Miami ATC who has had to deal with the lion's share of increased flights by Ven. carriers' flights. We used to shake our heads after listening on freq. to some of the exchanges.

Similarly, Nigeria has recently been upgraded to Cat. 1. Does anyone know first hand if the Nigerians have materially improved their aviation system and oversight, or perhaps politics and money has trumped common sense once again?

[Instant Hooligan]

FYI for US regs.
The "Code of Federal Regulations" is split into various parts covering all aspects of government. Title 14 of the "Code of Federal Regulations" covers Aeronautics and Space and is then further sub divided into Volumes,Chapters and then Parts. Chapter 1 has parts listed from 1-199 and this is where the reference "part 135" or "part 121" comes from. For a complete listing of the related parts and for those interested follow the link.

The Code of Federal Regulations (http://www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/cfrassemble.cgi?title=201014)


Or simply go straight to "part 121"

2010 CFR Title 14, Volume 3 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_10/14cfr121_10.html)

Regards
IH

[411A]

And, for 14CFR129...

2010 CFR Title 14, Volume 3 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_10/14cfr129_10.html)

[Alconguin Crusader]

I am glad that someone or something is standing up to the Lords of the Sand. For way too long the GCAA has been nothing but a rubber stamp approval agency for A6, A7 ect. I am not saying that the FAA will do anything because that big Boeing order has help Emirates case immensly.
If the FAA were to just look at the factoring and that's it they would have a very compelling case. As we all know there is much much more to look at witht the GCAA and its relationship with its airlines.

[a747jb]

Well, regardless of what may or may not come out of this, we should all state our concerns to both the GCAA and FAA inspectors as we see them out an about. In particular, let them know about the fatigue issues. It seems most people don't even bother any more since in the past, nothing has come of it. Times might be changing however and a few we placed words to the governing bodies with regards to serious safety concerns can't hurt. If they chose to ignore, so be it, nothing gained, and nothing lost, except maybe 5 mins of your time in a conversation or filling out a safety report.

[169west]

Safety is paramount!

This is probably one good method to stop the almost unstoppable growth of the middle-east airlines, knocking on European and US doors more aggressive then ever in this economic down-turn since they can afford to invest billions in Mr Boeing and Mr Airbus farms.

[Jeffdh17]

I work there and can say it's probably a combination of both. When speaking of Nigeria there is always some level of corruption involved. My understanding is that only one airline has the Cat 1 status at this point. I believe the NCAA is limiting the status to carriers that have undergone the NCAA's audit.

[paokara]

Not the police, but they can pull the plug and you will never fly into the US.

Ask Korean Airlines..


And this is from a fed.

[atpcliff]

Hi!

Yes, in some cases, the FAA rules are not as good as typical CAA rules, but that is changing right now.

The new Flight/Duty/Rest rules proposal just was made public, and Congress has mandated that it be effective in less than a year. It will have new things in it, like 190 duty hours in 28 days, which I believe is standard for most CAAs.

It will mean the US carriers will need to hire more pilots, which means that EK will have less applicants/new hires from the US.

cliff