Ryanair & Positioning Pilots
I have several acquaintances working for RYR who seem to spend a great deal of their time 'positioning' around Europe on their days off to get to duties rostered from foreign bases.
They seem to be able to turn up at the gate for any company flight, without a boarding card, presumably having cleared security as staff rather than as a passenger and then are automaticly allocated a jumpseat if there is not a seat available in the cabin.
There seems to be some suggestion that they are being carried as a 'supernumerary crew member'. However they appear to be a crew member who has not attended any briefing or indeed even met his fellow crew prior to boarding. He is not present for 'observation duties' and plays absolutely no part in the operation of the aircraft. So being termed supernumerary crew is an extraordinarily tenuous description.
Surely a crew-member who passes through a staff checkpoint to then be miraculously transformed into a passenger is completely circumventing UK DFT security protocols?
When positioning on a 'day off' for a rostered duty is this day then discounted for FTL purposes as a day spent on 'duties at the behest of the company' ???
How does this setup work ?