Definition of Rest Day at your company

[Global Pilot]

I am interested in hearing your views on how your company defines a rest day. To put it into context you complete a duty period requiring crewing to put you on a rest day instead of the originally rostered airport standby.
During the rest day I have an incoming call from the company. I am curious as to why they are calling, perhaps to ask me to operate on a rest day or advice me of a change to my standby following the rest day. I decline to answer as I understand a rest day should be free from work related duties and be uninterupted.

Is it correct not to answer the phone? What is your opion on what a rest day should entail?

[tangocharlie]

In our Airline, a Rest day is considered a Company day and not a day off. Therefore it can be changed into a duty day, if they can get hold of you of course?

[yellowdog]

In our part of our company, we have non-op days.

These are days where your hours preclude you from doing a duty legally, within your roster as it stands. The company may change this if they change the preceding or following duty, however they must give us the minimum notice required of a duty change, ie 12 hours.

They cannot use the day as a standby day and if they haven't changed the duty then the only reason they can contact us is if they have a change for the following day.

However if you choose not to answer the phone then that is entirely down to you.

YD

[boredcounter]

Then there is the odd occassion when a rest day may preceed an 0400 local report. The call on your rest day is to advise you the flight is cancelled...............

Oh well, Caller ID is a great thing, answering calls from work is not mandatory, but then niether are voicemails.

Like everything, its up to the individual and swings and roundabouts apply. There is no right or wrong thing to do.

[baob2oba]

Rest day/period

Regarding Flight Time Limitations, your bible is called CAA-CAP 371 ( UK ).

Most operators around the world base their scheme on the CAP371, except those "engaged in air taxi/sole-use charter, air ambulance work, and pleasure flying".
It is said there, Section B-17.1,2,...,6:

" The aircraft operator must notify all crew members in good time of a flying duty period so that sufficient and uninterrupted pre-flight rest can be obtained. When away from base the operator must provide the crew suitable accomodation. When flights are carried out at such short notice that it is impracticable for an operator to arrange suitable accomodation, then this responsability devolves to the aircraft commander."

" The minimum rest period which must be provided before undertaking a flying duty period shall be:
_ at least as long as the preceding duty period or,
_12 hours
whichever is the greater. "

" Exceptionally at home base, individual crew members may be asked to exercise their discretion to reduce rest by up to a minimum of one hour but only to a minimum of 12 hours for flight crew and 11 hours for cabin crew. "

" If the preceding duty period, which includes any time spent on positioning, exceeded 18 hours, then the ensuing rest period must include a local night. "

" After being called out from a standby duty the length of minimum rest shall be determined by the length of standby duty, plus any time spent on positioning, and any FDP completed. "

" Crew members who inform an operator tha they are having difficulty in achieving adequate pre-flight rest must be given the opportunity to consult an aviation medical specialist. "

Etc, etc,etc ...

Now if you open for example the EK FOM relating to the FTL scheme, Chap. 21, you will find exactly the same definitions and rules...

So you can still download CAP371 from the CAA's website, but to make it simple, let's say that operators, when they don't need to stricly apply these rules, will considere a "legal" Rest day as a 24h rest period ( from 00h01 to 23h59 ), before an " Early Start Duty " or " Night Duty " starting the following day.

I believe that your company can decide to change your incoming duty during that rest period, however they must provide you with a new minimum rest period ( defined by the length of your previous duty or must be at least 12 hours but can be reduced to 11 hours, blablabla... ).
It is also said that they can only contact you during the " contactable period ", which is " a short period of time during the day, other than a day off, during which the company requires a crew member to be at an agreed location for the purpose of giving notification of a duty period which will commence not less than 10 hours ahead." Also this contactable period does not constitute a stand-by duty.

Anyway, we could go on for hours like that...
Now you have understand that you always have 2 options: let them screw you, or play with the legalities' fire!

Enjoy...

[bloodyplanes]

what's the point of bloody planes anyway?

[luvly jubbly]

You should answer the phone on a rest day as it is a work day. It can be changed into a duty, and you should be available for the company.
Contactable days only have a short period in which you should answer the phone.

After any phone call from the company, the timer starts again for min rest as you have been interrupted.

You should not answer the phone during a day off, or during leave. This, I believe, is not CAP371, but European Employment Law.

Hope this helps.... It seems weird but a rest day can be interrupted or worked on!

LJ

[vodkaholic]

In my company you do not have to answer your phone on a rest day, a blank day, or an un-rostered day. You only have to answer your phone on a standby. A rest day to us means the day after a night flight, when you should be resting for either another night flight that night or for your days off. So crewing would never call you on a rest day unless it was to advise of a delay, and even then you don't have to answer your phone.

[apaddyinuk]

I stand to be corrected but at BA longhaul our days off are actually referred to as MBT's, minimum base times!!! Each trip generates a different number of MBT's so where an east coast flight generates 3 MBTs (which I believe is based on "local nights"!) an middle east or africa flight of the same duration may only generate 2 MBT's!!! So in effect, we work for our days off!

Now we also have what we refer to as "early report days"! Basically if we have an early report (I think its anything before 8am) we are required to have the day free for rest the day beforehand and this is in ADDITION to the MBT's we generated from our previous trip.

[vodkaholic]

In my airline it is the opposite. We are not allowed to report before 0630 local, the day directly after a day off.
However, if we are rostered an early report after days off we are given a blank day in between, so it is not classed as a day off.

[Little Blue]

As far as I'm concerned a CDR (crew day of rest ) is exactly what it says it is.
I would NEVER attempt to call a crew member on that day.

[Abusing_the_sky]

I would NEVER attempt to call a crew member on that day.

Would you mind telling that to my Crewing please? Much appreciated


Rgds,
ATS

[gadgetman]

Definition of a rest day: When the crew member in question has done so many long haul flights that the jetlag, panadol-night and Cabernet Sauvignon have combined to form a perfect storm of a coma that no ringing phone, doorbell fire alarm,starving cat or screaming kid are able to wake them from.