GF A320 Operating Crew Transit check certification

[ENGG4LIFE]

As per new GF procedure A320 crew to carry out and certify A320 Transit Check at outstations. As Enginnering staff in the Airline i was not too happy on seeing this as it was a clear sign as to future of engineering jobs in GF outstations.
GF A320 flight crew do not seem to undertsand this and obviously not bothered. It is obvious from the amount of conflicts arrising between Engineering and Flight Crew. Few Captains "Demanding" engineering to carry out refuelling when it is clearly now the captains duty/responsibilty to do and certify the Transit Check of these aircraft.
It is also obvious that Flight Crew are also not too happy with the new procedure. Most engineering staff are aware of this and are willing to play nice and help out every now and then whenever possible.
Enginneering know that their jobs are now on the line and then you recieve an aircraft and get these demands from crew. Some may put their tails betweeen their legs and accept while others will not.
Dear GF A320 Captains, this is just a request, all you have to to is be nice and ask the engineer/mecahnic kindly to assist you and we will bend over backwards for you.

Respect us and we will Respect you

[ironbutt57]

my experience in the past was as follows, complete the fueling and transit check as per procedures, observe the engineer sitting in J class eating the crew meal I did not have time to eat during my 4 sector day,as after the fueling was completed, the second officer trainee required my attention to enable an ontime departure...I never requested the engineers to perform their former duties, but you can bet I "encouraged" that engineer to wait outside in his vehicle!!!!

[Sal-e]

Nice when we work as a team.

[rumrunner69]

Or even better when you are operating CMB - BAH - DMM - BAH on a block that is just legal in 45 degree heat :mad:

[ironbutt57]

in general held no blame to the engineers, just doing what they were told to do poorly implemented idea from somewhere upstairs....

[Albergineman]

Another "Cutting Costs" idea...

[40&80]

G.F. tried this idea in the 1990's on the B.767 fleet it did not work that well in practice and just seemed to fade away....I feel it cost the airline more in money and crew resignations than it saved.
Do not forget to wear your G.F hat and tie when checking the engine oils in 45C on your four sector day/night :ok:

[masalama]

a bit confused here , can you enlighten please?
I'm not GF crew but interested in the topic. At our airline, transit clearance for captains only meant when we divert to stations with no Engineer to sign-off and do the necessary checks/fueling etc.
But you say you had an engineer on board , then what's he doing on board? Was he travelling ACM or something?

If used by airlines to "cut" costs, sadly another example of being penny- wise , there are certain things a well trained, experienced engineer can observe & detect on a short transit .

Masalama.

[ENGG4LIFE]

Personally I am not a fan of the whole idea. I hate sitting on my butt watching the crew handle the transit. I would like to assure you not all engineers are lazy bums up for a free pay check. Regardless of all that i can see that engineering (not all of them) and crew (all of them) would like this new practice to be dissolved asap. So how do we convince GF to go back to normal?

[ENGG4LIFE]

Masalama.
Yes you are correct. Normaly thats how it is parcticed. It is also now highly adopted by low budget airlines to cut costs. A lot of airlines now are trying to adopt ideas from low budget airlines to cut costs and this is obviously one of those ideas.

[slowjet]

Masalama, I see your question was not really answered. GF always carried an Engineer to places where there was no resident GF Engineer. He would go there in J Class & Flight Crews welcomed his presence and availability. Captains were always trained and certified to cary out a Transit Check. However, in the past, the Engineer would do this. It appears that GF Captains now carry out the Transit checks even if an Engineer is carried. He will be carried, no doubt, in case he is needed for more serious work. That is why, I suggest, in these cases, he appears to be sitting around enjoying J Class facilities. He is, after all, just doing what he has been told to do by his Dept. Flight crews will see this as degradation of former life styles but I bet that they are very glad that the guy is around and at close call. At Stations where GF Engineering are available, I venture to say that they would merely 'attend' the aircraft. The actual Transit Check will still be carried out by the Captain. Rather than have him sit in a hot stuffy Van, I would still welcome him into a J seat, offer him whatever I could in the way of treats, very glad that he was around for more serious issues & onhand advice.

[ironbutt57]

Well the hot stuffy van......after I walk around on the hot ramp, then return to the hot stuffy flight deck (for the remainder of my 12 hr hot stuffy day), the engineer takes the blue copy, burbs my crew meal, then returns to his air con hang out until his next meal...oopsy! aircraft comes...99% of the engineers were good and unofficially participated, but the 1% were happy to heap all the workload on us, and I was never able to see how this procedure could possibly result in any savings!!!!

[repapips]

The savings, ironbutt, comes when they finally get rid of the engineers!
This practice definitely reduces their man-hours, thus, redundancy happens and eventually job cuts!

[ironbutt57]

Never happy to see any former colleagues lose jobs:(