Offbase Notification

[Rim-job]

Gents,

What is the deal with this "Offbase Notification" ?? Am I required to fill it out and tell the company where I am going on "my personal vacation"??

I have filled it out on occasion and forgotten to on other occasions. I am currently away on leave, but forgot to fill it out when I left DXB 1 week ago. Is it worth filling it out now or am I just raising red flags?

Wondering if anyone really checks this "off base notification" and what the point of it is? If I am away with the family, why is it anyones business where I go.

Any insight would be appreciated.

[Praise Jebus]

Ek as your sponsor apparently has a legal obligation/right to know where you are. I complete it for when away on days off, never for leave. Sitting in my passenger seat downing a Bloody Mary at the departure gate is where I usually do it....

[montencee]

It's not required for leave but it is required for any days off before and after leave.

If we get caught for another misdemeanor they will check our e-gate against offbase notifications. The usual one is getting caught not following the 3 nights acclimatisation in DXB before ULR.

Apparently when we call sick they check our two most recent rosters for acclimatisation and offbase irregularities.

[Praise Jebus]

Apparently when we call sick they check our two most recent rosters for acclimatisation and offbase irregularities.

Indeed.... called sick after returning from leave and JA's secretary queried Staff Travel for my flight details. How do I know? The staff travel dude courteously copied me in on the email reply....

[Dropp the Pilot]

Acclimitisation is not affected by being outside of Dubai on personal travel.

The notion that it does have any effect is a chimera constructed by your usual pack of enforcement-hungry Nazis.

This is easily verified by reading the OMA which states that acclimitisation is only affected by ending a duty outside the band.

I may have said this before.

[montencee]

This is easily verified by reading the OMA which states that acclimitisation is only affected by ending a duty outside the band.

Yes, I agree the wording is unambiguous, yet I know enough people who have suffered from an alternative and unwritten company interpretation that I prefer not to put logic and good sense to test.

[GoreTex]

I haven't done it the last 10 years and never had any issues, so far

[johnnyramjet]

Do it to protect yourself in case there is a roster change. It happened to me while I was away on leave. In short, I could not make the new roster change while I was away on leave as I had planned my ALT around my original roster. They tried to punish me, but the Off Base Notification saved me. It also proved to me that no one really knows where you are.

[sluggums]

Never done it in 12+ years. The bouncy castle is too much of a shambles to notice in any case.

What I do with my time off is my business, sponsored or not...

[whossorrynow]

What I do with my time off is my business, sponsored or not...

Sounds like a guy I used to know. He's gone now. Making his own decision to leave a bit easier was an interview with the Chief Pilot, Fleet Manager (might have been Manager Fleet) and three HR persons about his return to DXB less than 3 nights before a ULR duty. Interview in his own time I think.

[Kapitanleutnant]

Only time I've seen this saving someone was when said individual got stuck in the US due to snowstorm. Called fdm and first thing checked was whether said individual had officially signed out. Since he had, fdm said no worries, we'll take care of your missed trip.

I'd imagine if he hadn't signed out, he would have gotten a missed trip, a penalty to pay for missed trip and a tea with biscuits meeting along with a warning letter.

Kap

[White Knight]

You do not need to do the off-base notification for leave. But as has just been stated it is wise to do so if you leave Dubai on days off. It takes 30 seconds of your time....

[harry the cod]

I agree with WK. The clue is in the title. It's a 'notification' that you'll be off base, not 'permission' to leave base, one of many reasons being you may be in a position to help out with AOG/sick crew issues down route.

Whether you'd want to of course is another story. Still, might save you a return ticket and gain a valuable Najam in the process!

Harry

[springbok449]

I was operating one of the LGW trips a few years back when one of our colleagues became sick down route so there was a lot of shuffling around between the various pilots there to cover the flight
The problem was resolved when one of the guys was there on his days off and had filled in the Off Base Notification form and was due to travel home on that day, they called him up and he operated the flight...

Now if the form is used in a sensible way like this I don't mind doing it however I am sure that's not alway the case...

[Narrow Runway]

Ah, how quaint.

The company can use it to help them, or to shaft you. Perfect.

I assume EK checked that the guy helping out from LGW was well enough rested before operating, just like they would do if you don't have 3 night in DXB before your rostered flight?

No, I thought not.

[Payscale]

So who brings his license and medical when leaving town for a few days?

[harry the cod]

Always carry my licence, as well as a freshly laundered uniform and spare shirt just in case. Even when I'm 'off base' in Fujariah. Doesn't everyone? :hmm:

Harry

ps. The only time I don't notify them is on the twice a month Barracuda booze run. If they saw how often I went there, I'd be having more than the 6 a year random drug and alcohol tests I currently get!

[falconeasydriver]

Just do what I used to do, fill the damn thing in each month, about 5 minutes after you get your roster. Generally it would include such delightful off base localities as Baku, Istanbul, Nice (in the summer), and even Karachi. All you will note within the 2hr time-zone.
From that day to this I've never had a call on a day off and my work phone would go on exactly 2 hrs before departure:E
I should add for clarity's sake that I did this purely as a mechanism to protect my days off, imagine for a minute if fleet got 3800 or so off base notes every 23rd 24th of the month...Costa would have to wait...for a minute.

[Rim-job]

Thanks everyone,

But just so I'm clear, I only have to do it for days off.

Am I understanding it correctly that I do not need to do it for Leave? If so, is it documented anywhere (more curious than anything)?

Rim

[Eau de Boeing]

OM A 20.1.3

It's all documented there.

[sluggums]

Whatever, never done it, never will...

[Outatowner]

The problem was resolved when one of the guys was there on his days off and had filled in the Off Base Notification form and was due to travel home on that day, they called him up and he operated the flight
What a w@nker.


Narrow runway - you hit the nail on the head. You've been here a while or have been taught to use your brain.

[littlejet]

I love filling the off-base notification. That is the only time the company is actually asking me if I am willing to operate the flight. I hit NOOOO and continue to contribute to my CDT levels in Marhaba lounge!

[Dirigible]

I really don't know what the fuss is all about. I regularly leave base on days off, and always complete the off base notification. I use it to my benefit as they don't call me when away (several times been called on off days when on base) and if it suits me to operate back (saving about 900 Dhs in UK tax alone outbound) I would, but so far it has never been requested. The one colleague I know who operated a flight back negotiated a very favourable deal for the rest of his roster as they were in a tight spot. Win/win. There are lots of things which are unpalatable with EK requirements, but this is not one of them. Shows just how paranoid our pilots are when this becomes an issue.

[trimotor]

Paranoia Rules. I fill it in for all my days off as soon as I get my roster. Only recently, when off base, scheduling called to ask if I could operate (ex-DXB) that day, but then realised I was off base...proving that the system works and protects your off days from no-notice roster changes..If it suits me I will indicate that I'm willing to operate, as it would give me a great bargaining chip for roster modification, callout pay, free trip back to DXB, etc. My licence/medical lives with my passport, so it's usually with me, as is my ID card (required to be carried on staff travel, don't you know).

It's a very small beer issue, that works to your advantage.

[Emma Royds]

The one colleague I know who operated a flight back negotiated a very favourable deal for the rest of his roster as they were in a tight spot. Win/win.

Come the next month the good deed will be totally forgotten and there will be 92 hours of fun and excitement.

Let them be in a tight spot as it's their problem. If we were rostered sensibly and treated with a degree of respect by management, perhaps you would not be put in a position of being asked to operate back, due to a colleague who has gone sick down route.

You don't need to fill in the offbase notification to be asked to operate from an outstation anyway. TRIPS can be checked to show who has flown to the outstation concerned and not returned to Dubai. This is another reason why it can be beneficial to use other airlines for staff travel. You don't need any of your credentials as copies will be sent to the outstation to enable you to operate back.

The easiest thing to do is say you enjoyed a couple of glasses of red in the last hour or so and therefore can't operate until the required 12 hours has elapsed.

[Emma Royds]

Never did need the excuse of having a drink or whatever lame excuse to refuse an extra duty, especially operating back.

I know one person who arrived at the airport as a passenger and the ASM realised who he was and then took him to one side and explained that his services were being requested to operate back. If you pull the 'I have just had a drink' card then that closes the matter there and then. You will spend a lot more time getting them to listen if you simply just say 'No'.

[donpizmeov]

I fill in the form. I am afraid I would rather pay the tax and ticket fare back to the sand rather than operate, as these Pr@cks will not give me leave, limit my days off, and have not given a cost of living pay rise for years. Best they sort their problems without my help.

[Oceanic]

In Summary...Use it to your advantage if it benefits you, don't if it it doesn't. Don't be paranoid. Next topic.