Dear Management,
We write as a group of First Officers currently employed in Oman Air and this letter reflects the thoughts and cocerns of its signees only.
We would like to bring the following points to the attention of the management for consideration and correction:
ROSTER
In the past year, due to crew shortages, the majority of First Officers have been scheduled an average of 85 or more hours per month. In some cases annual leave was denied and/or shortened as well.
There is no “pattern” or Fatigue Management System in place, therefore morning, afternoon and night flights are planned in such a way that they require a massive effort in body clock adjustments, which is a big contributing factor in accumulating fatigue. There is not enough time to readjust or rest between some flight shifts (i.e. morning to night, night to morning) or enough Off Days to recover. This is also reflected in an increased number of sick leave absences.
The latest roster changes increased Duty Times even further.
We would like to point out that whilst our roster is “legal” from a regulatory standpoint, it doesn't necessarily mean it's “healthy” as well.
All of us are starting to feel the onset and consequences of accumulated fatigue.
We therefore ask the management to acknoledge and take serious and expedite action to address this problem. We strongly request for the implementation of a Fatigue Management System and the introduction of additional Off Days to be able to operate SAFELY the proposed roster.
As pilots, we believe SAFETY is everyone's priority, and we feel this has been overlooked and second placed in favour of commercial aspects during the last year.
We understand that as a Company we have to make adjustments to become profitable, but these adjustments should also cater for employees well being. The hiring process of additional workforce is not happening in pace with the increased requirement, resulting in all of us being pushed to the limit.
PERFORMANCE PAY
The new roster scheme has introduced a lot of ground time and/or Augmented Crew for a lot of flights, resulting in a major increase in Duty Times. Apart from the Fatigue considerations expressed above, this also heavily impacts on the Performance Pay of each of us. We are currently payed by block hours, thus this increase in Duty Hours and decrease in Flying Hours translates into “work more, for less”.
We ask the management to take action to correct this situation, eitherreverting to Duty Hour pay or introducing some form of compensation for the extensive Duty Times.
The new upgrade/fleet transfer policies have already had a negative impact on Pilot's motivation, these new changes further affect us in a negative way.
We are afraid this might cause further resignations, which will penalise the Company and us even more.
We are willing to discuss these matters further with the Managent to address these problems, which have become of primary importance to us all.