Can we all go back a bit further and find out why we are having to charter? Many times have I noticed AT frames parked all over a little corner of West Oxon and still seen CIVAIR hopping over the fence.
I recently overheard that VC10 and Tristar tasks are often (far from allways) cancelled because of a lack of crew, and by crew I mean Cabin Crew (CC). So apparently VC10 CC cannot op Tristar and vicky verky. Is this true? The very same RAF that banters around that good old phrase er...Flexibility is the key to air power!
Surely when it comes down to the flight safety aspects of both types, a door is a door (Tristar is more complex, yes) and the fire extinguishers work on the same types of fire irrespective of acft type, and the first aid kits generally work as advertised irrespective of acft type, an oven fire is an oven fire (whoops there goes the crew meals) and the manual cabin crew briefing about how to put on a life jacket/O2 mask and the doors can be found here here and there...................
A few years ago I handed my blue suit in and moved into various shades of charcoal ones. My current airline operates Boeing/Airbus narrow bodies, Boeing/Airbus wide bodies. The cabin crew are trained to work in upto three types of cabin class on 5 different aircraft types. All regulated by JAR , CAA and FAA. Customer service levels are Q.A'd by an external independant agency.
My airline before that operated three types (6 varients) with common trained CC.
Commercially, airlines have learnt that you have to maximise your resources to achieve the best job at the best price. I really believe that for all the budget controls put into place over the last few years, nobody is looking at the Big Picture. Where are the long term planners within a transient blue workforce? The civvy suits with MOD accreditation react to whats put before them by the very same transient blue suit staffer's every 2-2.5 years. I suppose not being in a competitive environment means that really you have nothing to benchmark your self against.
No stability, no future from where I look over the fence. Oh, and the sooner NATO drops this acft sharing B~ll~cks deal the better. Is it right that the RAF cancels MOD tasks because we have to give back flying hours to nations that have had to cancel tasks of its own and sub charter other NATO AT ? You will forever be in each others pockets!