JTL.
A fine sentiment, but usually unrealistic. To refuse a roster, as I have done on various occaisions, you need a strong position and character. It is not uncommon, when telling crewing that you will not perform a dutyfor physilogical reasons, to be confronted with he direct question, "are you refusing to work/fly/the duty?" This will then go on your record. It takes a brave one to say yes.
Goaf,
A not surprising result, and highly desirable. When crews can work when they want and still produce what the company wants, that sounds like a WIN WIN. There will always be compromises, but in general everyone is happy. With computer systems, should management wish to tear themselves away from the pencil and rubber era and open up their minds to the new world, it should be possible. Of course the dinasours in rostering do not want to relinquish control. They enjoy pulling strings and watching you dance. I've heard off, but not yet experienced, an airline where there was a friendly and respectful relationship bewteen crews and rostering/crewcontrol. It was even worse for cabin crew. Of 10 airlines, 6 had senior MD's with an abject hatred of pilots. As bad attitudes drift downwards the whole area was infected with poison.
All this talk of fixed patterns, i.e. 6/3, 5/3 or whatever, is still because rostering want some control. 5 days of constant work with a changing sleep pattern will cause tiredness and reduce the quality of the 3 days off to probably 1 day & recuperation. It also leads to the problem that the roster is fixed weeks in advance and if you need a day off for something special which crops up in the middle of your 5 days, then you are stuffed. Give crewing 5 day blocks and they will own you body & soul for 24 hours a day. It has happened yet been denied. Within those 5 days they can do what they like with you at short notice. Any free time can be destroyed by changes. With such a system there need to be many built in safe-guards, but that will mean crewing losing control and they will not agree.
Another problem with such fixed patterns is they might work woth one type of operation but not with another. Crewing may want 6/3 rigidity but demand flixibility as well. I worked for a european s/h charter airline with a 4/3 system. It never worked because you would always have had the same days on/off. (SOmehow it seemed that every weekend was on, though). They then started L/H and tried to use the same system. Total chaos. They tried to say days down route were 3 OFF. There was massive reluctance to devise a preference system. No one has ever sat down with the crews and tried to work out a WIN WIN system, as you seem to suggest is needed. What are they so afraid of. Of all the departemnts with in airline, I IMHO the pilots are the ones with the greatest interest and desire for the company to succeeed and prosper, thereby giving them a longterm career. Somehow there is a feeling upstairs, that the pilots want to milk the cow. What a total travesty of the truth and so typically hypocritical. No airline has gone under due to crew demands. Butr that is another topic.
Back to rostering patterns; there neees to be some mutual repsect for each others needs, but to need a holiday day to guarantee a dental appointment is the ludicrous depth to which it gets. Try telling that to an office whalla. They just come or go late/early.
Hey hey. Off to enjoy my 30 hours off. 0000 - 0600.
Last edited by RAT 5; 27th Jun 2004 at 11:56.