To address a couple of outstanding issues, firstly, the Head of Ground Operations will be responsible for the ground handling aspects of the operation. He will have 5 staff on the ramp in Doha, mainly supervising the subcontracted ground handling services, but also to assist with the services using our own equipment. He will also have 5 office staff who will ensure that all ground handling services outside Doha are organised correctly and are suitable. He will monitor the performance of external ground handling suppliers to ensure the best standard of service is given to our operation.
Regards the A320 fleet, I am estimating that the average number of overnights per month per pilot would be around 5 - 7. That said, we just had one crew away for around 3 weeks. The flying rates are inconsistent and unpredictable. You might do 15 hours and one overnight one month then 90 hours and 15 overnights the next. With the new aircraft arriving, I do not know the anticipated utilisation for these aircraft. The 320 fleet has been one of the hardest worked during the last few years, so it will be interesting to see how the arrival of new aircraft affects overall utilisation.