Clear signal from EK managemant

[cat3bee]

FRTS

The mantra of if you don’t like it leave is well embedded into the EK management model and was recited to me recently. It would seem that in the face of huge profits that the new lemon squeezing rostering machine is doing a better job than expected at reducing staff morale. Couple this with the limitations arbitrarily imposed by the company on the new rostering system without any due consideration of the cumulative effects of fatigue, we now have some extremely tired pilots flying the EK brand around the globe.

The inherent desire within management to chase the ever increasing profit target at all costs just shows how out of touch with reality they are whilst in the office for 5 days a week. The management call themselves“Captain’s” yet most don’t fly and have never flown rosters month on month to the limits that the system now gives us, and in EK’s case, inventively going above those limits by using the word “factoring.” Yet behind the out dated GCAAFTL limits, the well-oiled EK scheduling machine spits out rosters to the limit and in some cases above the legal limit using the extra fudge factoring option. Some are now simply drunk with fatigue, the doctors know it and fleet management know it but it is here to stay until an occurrence changes it.

My first few years at EK were great, 75 hours a month, a chance to spend time with family and friends, a chance to recuperate, participate in a few hobbies and keep fit. When asked by colleagues from my old airline that were interested, I replied that it was a good gig so they applied. Then TCAS writes that we needed to help out the company during dire economic times by pushing the limits. Forward to the present and there are no dire economic times, yet the management have found shrewd new ways of extending those limits. I now get “layovers” in Dubai, my family see a walking zombie, my fitness is suffering, I get to bid for one trip in my two top bid months and I can’t even swap any of my flights to try and get some personal roster satisfaction because of so many unknown business limits invented to stop me. It is soul destroying when every month a new rule is invented that reduces our roster satisfaction. Coincidentally not one pilot from my old coompany has applied in the last four years.

Rather than address the pilot shortage and attrition, they have simply miss-managed the numbers and then to address an experienced pilot shortage, introduced this pathetic excuse for a rostering system. To combat the lack of experienced pilots they once traditionally attracted, they have now significantly lowered the joining requirements and I hear from a good source, the passing criteria at the interview stage as well. I’d be guessing that experience appears to be an unquantifiable factor when you need to chase big profit targets using any means possible.

In essence this new EK rostering system is a festering turd; we were all told how great the new rostering system was going to be, but through all the talk and hype we all knew then that nothing was going to be done for the staff. Now that they’ve put all their silly “business” and in some cases, simply vindictive limitations into it with more stupidity added every month, we suffer the consequences. Yet they still pour whipped cream all over it and tell us with cherries being added on top that it will get better, but it’s still a turd and I don’t believe a word. Now that we fly to the limits (and I use the word “limits” loosely), I’m supposed to mitigate my tiredness with in-flight rest, half the time the guy in the RHS doesn’t have the experience for me to be confident that I will rest. This further adds to my cumulative fatigue, but its legal right! But is it morally right to report for a duty period where you know you will have to mitigate fatigue using coffee and controlled rest during that duty period?

With the company making so much money, it doesn’t have to be like that. So what needs to be done, investment in crew it’s as simple as that. Any rostering system will work if you have the correct crew ratio, the more stupid rules they put into the system, the more pilots you will need to allow it to run efficiently. Therefore the management need to make a firm commitment to get the hours back to 75 per month and a managed assurance to do so would reduce the exodus of decent experienced staff. It would give the company more flexibility and a safer operation, it will also ensure the pilots working the line get their contractual leave, you know the numbers written on the worthless contract piece of paper and not 4 leave days scattered into a roster which by definition should be days off. But it will never happen because EK is now driven by greed and has become a soulless company to work for. So when I’ve woken up I’ll continue to review my options outside the region and wish my colleagues all the best in what are very trying and tiring times. I guess I will leave as I don’t like it.