alfamatt
Having been caught up in the snow/delays, I was once again asked by my Captain to work out our (cabin crews that is) hours. The outcome was that even with a 4 man flt. crew, the cabin crew had more flexibility & the ability to go longer than our tech crew, even using full Captains discretion.
Now PLEASE don't take this as an attack on my tech crew colleagues. They have their terms/conditions/rules/regulations to work to, & I fully support them.
Also, come about midnight on Sunday, when we were trying to get out of LHR, after about 3+ hrs of waiting, we were informed that now the tug drivers/bus drivers & other ground staffs shift had finished & we were effectively down to a "skeleton shift". This caused much frustration to my Captain, who was doing everything possible to keep things moving.
So then, in timeline order, so to speak, first the ground staff went home, then the tech crew woulde have been next on their limits, & LASTLY the cabin crew would have gone out of hours.
Just to re-state, the purpose of my post is NOT to have a pop at other depts, but rather to highlight the fact that cabin crews working practises & agreements are nowhere near as restrictive as some here believe.
There is nothing incorrect in your post... The Flt Crew were working to legal rules, and in general, for the same Flight/Rest, Flt Crew will always be "legal" for 1 hour less than CC. That's the law, and you saw it above... And BASSA
industrial rules are not normally very restrictive ex-Base.
The debate(s) are concerning after a LR sector, when the Law (FC & CC) requires, say, 15 hours off (1 hour less for CC). FC, despite their industrial agreements entitling them to 2 LNs (say 48 hours) off, would work to 15hrs. The CC, often only after consulting with IFS and BASSA demanded 48hrs+.
It is this division between scheme and industrial that is being highlighted - or rather
application of industrial... The FC choose to ignore where sensisble, the CC did not - or rather the CC "system" of their Mgmt and Union would not, leaving the CC to get blamed
NoD