Pilot Fatigue, Flight Operations own it. Corporate Safety may think they own it but it is Flight Operations/Crew Scheduling property.
The new rule with 3 pilots ULH during daytime will be the Hong Kong day. We will import you from any base that is more that 6 hours time difference, give you an EXB or 34 hours free of duty and you will be expected to be on Hong Kong time. You will be expected to operate 14 hours ULH with the expectation that the Second Officer be burnt out (as you pilots call it).
Flight Operations will be allowed to have discretion on certain matters i.e. allowance to apply certain variations to the AFTL’s at the last moment to allow a flight to operate. As we have seen in the past for example is to operate 2 crew from 3 crew from Australia. This will be a more common occurrence in the future. The Pilots are expected to operate these flights even though they rested for a 3-crew operation. They will be expected to operate as we consider this as “normal tiredness” which is different from “fatigue”.
If not, the DFO will demand the Chief Pilot call the captain into the office for a chat to see why the aircraft did not depart with 2 crew. If the Captain does not adjust his attitude for future flights, we will have no other choice than to lose confidence in that member and either demote the captain or terminate his contract. You are now officially warned.
In actuality, Flight Operations/Crew Scheduling do not care for pilot fatigue, it is but a small thorn in our side. The DFO has mandated the Scheduling Department to extract as close to 84 hours per month from every pilot regardless of time zone. The Scheduling Department does not consider time zone displacement when making the schedule. The GMA’s decision is that if you have an EXB in Hong Kong you will be considered acclimatised regardless of time zone displacement.
Certain flights to and from the Middle East will continue with 2-crew operation through the night (or WOCL as some scientist like to call it) as will the double shuttle Singapore/Colombo. We give you the necessary time duty free to rest and expect you to be rested for your next duty even though you can’t sleep because it is your daytime. If you have to take sleeping pills on a regular basis, we don’t care. Show up for duty rested to complete the duty. Sleeping pills are available from the Company Doctors or from Quality Health Care.
Occasionally we get an ASR on our desk from pilots/corporate safety and we give the corporate safety department the appropriate lip service. We act concerned but continue with the status quo. Very occasionally we may have one submit an MOR but just an appropriate letter from the GMA explaining his interpretation will suffice because the CAD takes direction from us.
Hong Kong aviation is a business and will be treated as such. No way scientific data will creep into the AFTL’s and put limitations on OUR BUSINESS. It all comes down to making Hong Kong competitive which equals: more money for our shareholders, The CPG and more importantly us Managers as we are the driving force behind every decision in flight operations.
We believe that The CPG is the aorta of Hong Kong and without it, Hong Kong would simply die. LEGCO and The Civil Aviation Department know this and give us certain latitudes and of course we supply them with free First Class Service. This is the way business is done.
So continue to submit your ASR’s and MOR’s in your futile attempt and we will continue to give them the appropriate lip service.
To My Bonus
The Management
Last edited by The Management; 3rd December 2009 at 12:22.