Originally Posted by
Ken Borough
Crew dead-heading in the premium classes is a very circular argument with validity no matter which way you put it. From a Company's perspective, the loss of up to four seats for flight crew is a large commercial hit in a cabin of say 14 seats. It would also want to protect the exclusivity of its premium cabins without crew being there in uniform. Like it or not, it isn't good look. OTOH, a company certainly would want its people to be fully rested and as fit as possible prior to operating a flight. Thus, dead-heading in P or J prior to operating is desirable.
If a company doesn't want to jeopardise revenue, an acceptable alternative would be to upgrade on departure if seats were to be available. That costs nothing but would mean a lot to those being upgraded. A win/win situation? With the comfort now offered in J class with genuine lie-flat beds, can anyone justify dead-heading in First Class?
The pilots have the entitlement and it is up to the employer to get it off them. It is simple as that. That except for QF shorthaul(1989 hangover) and Virgin which made sure it wasn't in in the first place. It is interesting that the first
VB chief pilot was the Ansett VP of AFAP at the time of the dispute. He oversaw the current provisions for duty travel in the VA pilots EBA.
The entitlement is that if a pilot has to duty travel, it will be First class on such configured aircraft or J class when first class is not available. It does not say that the pilot must travel on a particular flight. For example, if the airline was agile enough, it could offload the pilot from a flight where the seat is needed for someone who wants it and will pay full fare. The airline then has to pay the pilot according to the EBA until it can find him/ Her a first or J class seat.