The Mail & Duty Hours
Surprised no one has commented on the Daily Mails article in yesterday’s edition re BA strike.
Again telling the public that airline pilots only do 171/2 hours a week max. (900 hrs per year) The article even said that this was from the time crews reported for duty.
I hope BALPA get a correction printed & an apology for lousy research.
For those not professional pilots on this site. 900 hrs per annum is from the time the aircraft pushes back till it stops on chocks after each sector. (Easy explanation).
This does not include pre flight & post flight duties nor turn around times when you are still on duty getting the aircraft prepared for the next sector.
I have been retired for a couple of years, but when working I was usually rostered for a 55 hr week. This often increased to 65 during the roster period. Certainly this included standbys where I often got called out in advance. Also crew are not included in the working time directive, so no rest breaks etc.
When discussing this down the pub The question to normal office types of when you go to the loo at work are you still at working & being paid. Of course is the answer, so what pray tell is the difference with aircrew.
Wonder how many of the daily mail readers could do a 60 hour week including time changes (jet lag) on a regular basis.
(Note I am not saying others do not do long hours but so do crew)
Rant over