How are pilots assigned to flights (e.g. at LGW / STN)?

[Nicholas49]

Hello

My question is intended for easyJet crew at LGW or Ryanair crew at STN: in other words flight crew at large UK bases whose airline flies to a large number of European destinations. I am not referring to the BA method of bidding for routes based on seniority.

I understand that each flight needs a captain and first officer; that the flights allocated to each pilot must respect flight time limitations and rest periods and, in some cases, more experienced pilots are needed for particular destinations such as Innsbruck.

That understood, could anyone explain to me in a nutshell how pilots are allocated to routes? For example, could you expect to fly to most of your airline’s destinations over the course of a year? Is there an emphasis on ‘mixing it up’ to give flight crews diversity in their schedule (which is presumably more interesting for you)? Or is there an emphasis on familiarity by assigning particular pilots to the same routes? Or perhaps it is all done by computer?!

As always, thanks for taking the time to reply.

Nick

[BUGS/BEARINGS/BOXES]

Nick,

In the outfit im with we had a team of rosterers who plan all the crew requirement in terms of the flying programme for 2 months ahead of current. The rosterers are divinded into CC F/O's and Capt's. They will issue each crew member their months flying programme and ensure that it complies withFTL or Flight time Limitations as set out in CAP 371 from the CAA. About 2 weeks before the next month the crews all recieve their rosters. They will see where they are flying to for the next month. Some times to cover leave in other bases they may spend a few days in another of the airlines bases and fly the route structure that exists at that base.
They will also have been rostered any checks that are required during the month....eg a 6monthly sim ride or a base line check with a training captain.

When the roster 'goes live' the Crewing department has control of the crews roster. Therefore if there is any disruption, such as bad weather and tech problems with aircraft, the crewing team can re-plan the day in accordance with the Operations depatment and the companies Scheduling agreement. Therfore if say you were rostered to just go to AMS and back in the morning, if crewing need you to go to EDI when you get back to cover for a broken aircraft, as long as you are 'legal' then the company can extend your day to cover.

In terms of route 'mixing' and 'familiarity'. Some of my rosters see me going to the same place twice a day 3 days in a row! Other months I am doing a whole load of routes i may not have done in a while. It entirely depends on what we are rostered. For CAT C airfields, such as Chambery, We are required to doa visit on the jump seat before going into the airfield under supervision. When we are 'checked out' for that airfield we may only be allowed 3 months without a visit before being retrained. Therefore, once you are check out, rostering try to expose you as much as possible to the airfield and keep you 'current'.

Rgs

[Nicholas49]

BUGS/BEARINGS/BOXES - thank you for the explanation.

You said: "In terms of route 'mixing' and 'familiarity'. Some of my rosters see me going to the same place twice a day 3 days in a row! Other months I am doing a whole load of routes i may not have done in a while. It entirely depends on what we are rostered."

That's really the heart of my question. It seems there are many variables at work, e.g. route checks, standby covers etc. I don't know whether the people responsible for creating the rosters read this forum (and can offer an insight), but if anyone else knows whether they allocate you to routes randomly or if there is a human element involved for the reasons suggested above, I'd be interested to know how it works.

Nick

[Otto Throttle]

Nick, the allocation of routes is almost entirely random in the kind of operation you are enquiring about. The rostering team have no interest at all in whether the mix of routes which form a pilot's roster have any relevance to their personal enjoyment or to build experience.

In my own airline, there is the very worthy intention in our Ops manual and training strategy that pilots will be rostered for a variety of routes in order to build experience, including operation from bases other than their nominated 'home' base, but in practice it never happens. Rostering simply put pilots on the routes which allow them to comply with FTL limitations.