How many crew are needed to keep a plane flying?

[m500dpp]

Now I know that a 757 for example might fly with a senior and 4 cc, but how many crew must an airline typically employ to keep such a plane flying on long haul with minimum 3 day stop overs?

This obviously has to take account of crews on rest at home and at the destinations, and rest days holidays, sickness etc......

My best guess is 5 sets of crew = 30 but I may be way out!!!

[VS-LHRCSA]

It would depend on a number of factors including:

The type of aircraft
The on-board product (classes of travel)
The number of destinations
The frequency of flights TO these destinations
The utilisation of the aircraft

Your question is very difficult to answer without specifics.

[m500dpp]

Thanks, thought it might be difficult, must be a logistical nightmare!!!!

Can anyone quote any examples?

[TightSlot]

I remember hearing that an average of approximately seven crews per aircraft is normal - however that may be pre-loco era and therefore be out of date.

[Mr Angry from Purley]

m500
can't quote examples as they are commercially sensitive. In rough figures a lowco such as Ezy will be 5 crews per aircraft, charter between 6-7 and long haul up to 14 if for example you go east one day then west 2 days later:\

[m500dpp]

Thanks for the answers guys, enough info fo me, fascinating subject can quite see why it is commercially sensitive!!!!

[WHBM]

I used to do all this.

Certainly 7 was a figure used some years ago as a standard for long haul.

Long haul uses more per aircraft than short haul for the obvious reason that one operates all night and the other doesn't (normally). So as LCCs are still daytime-only operators they probably work closer to something like 5. They work their crews harder but as they work their aircraft harder as well the two tend to balance out for crew-per-aircraft.

A simple division is to take how many hours the fleet average per year, and then divide that by the agreed number of flying hours for crew. Then you have to adjust this for various unproductive things like training and other non-flying work, but it gives you a good start, and is where investors' consultants start from in ripping through the costs of a business up for sale.