EK MAA Augmented!

[halas]

Do my eyes deceive me?

Starting on the 26th Oct 544 @ 02:45 now has augment FO! Pairing 5544.

Just noticed MLE too!

halas

[HarryDunne]

MAA is a dreadful flight to operate, they don't need to subject a other poor FO to a night with no sleep, they need to make it a day flight like the Athens. Any of those destinations South and Eastern India are awful, small and hazardous airfields when you're in a fatigued/tired condition.

[Kenai]

Any of those destinations South and Eastern India are awful, small and hazardous airfields when you're in a fatigued/tired condition.

VOMM - MAA- RWY 07/25 - 12000 ft, ILS on both sides. Pretty much low level MSA all around. Hardly a hazardous airfield.

VOHS (HYD), VOBL (BLR), VOCI (COK), VOTV (TRV) all of these have minimum 10000 ft runways.

VOCL (CCJ) can be a tricky one due to its table top runway and the slope however it has ILS on both sides for the past couple of years.

Couple of other destinations EK does not operate to...VOML, VOGO...they are just about OK...but nothing like Kabul or Kathmandu!

The only common factor I see is that all these are night turnarounds. Would they be hazardous airfields if they were layover destinations instead?

Monsoon is another thing all together though, but then it's almost the same as you would face in KUL BKK and MNL.

Well it's good EK are atleast giving you an augmented crew....we poor guys in the LCCs are used to these destinations as a night turnaround....always. :\ ...what can i say...grass is greener on the other side syndrome? :p

Ofcourse I agree if these were day flights things change dramatically with regards to fatigue.

[sheikhmahandy]

Idiot:mad:

[Desert Camel]

Is it not a good thing to have a third pilot on those flights? It will make it a bit easier, won't it?
:ugh::ugh::ugh::mad:

[TwoTone-7]

Would welcome augmented crew anytime. As long as pay isn't affected!

Kenai you forget to mention that the condition of the runways are atrocious, especially CCJ amongst them. Lighting is poor and then you have an ATC controller who's attempting to break a record for the most number of words uttered in a sentence within the shortest amount of time. All with not much other traffic to deal with at the time ONLY! :ugh:

[kotakota]

Southern Indian airfields may not be tricky / dangerous , but the operation to most of them favoured by most of the Gulf carriers makes them difficult .
Report about 0100 local , depart about 0215 , arrive with sun in your eyes , and if weather is bad , by the time you have landed and had your dose of adrenalin , what you would like to do is report to the nearest hotel . But no , you now have to get yourself up for a 0700 - 1030 return flight , often with Etops etc , get back to ME in the heat , then try to sleep so you can do it all over again that night .
I have been to MAA in daylight when the weather is appalling , but the whole experience is so much easier than during the graveyard shift .

[TwoTone-7]

Then there's MUMBAI Radio HF! :}

[120feet]

Kenai,
Yes they would be less hazardous if they were layovers!! That's the point! If you were assigned one or two a month it would not be as big a deal. However, when you routinely put 4-9 of these turnaround flights a month or are alternating them between day and night duties it becomes very hazardous. Why EK appears to have an issue with just making 1 month all night turns so pilots can at least keep their body clock semi in sync alludes me. They seem to spend ALL of their limited fatigue research on ULR flying. I would much rather have a month packed with ULRs then MAA CCJ BLR night turns. MAA should be an overnight but augmented is a step in the right direction, which does make it a surprise move by EK. But Plz ask the Don.

[Trader]

I think the issue is more the 92 hours with this type of flying. I can do a few night turns and other night flying if I can RECOVER. With our skeds it is the lack of recovery that is the real issue.

[Kapitanleutnant]

I think at the end of this year/beginning of next, the new EASA rules will dictate such operations so perhaps EK is testing the waters getting ready for the need for either layovers or augment crew's to these horribly fatiguing destinations?

.... Or not

K