Duty Time OR Flight Time

[ashlea]

Quick query... when crew are referring to working 100 hours per month (for example) are they referring to total duty hours OR hours actually in-flight? Thanks

[Ten West]

They're probably referring to flying hours. Flying hours start at report time and end at on-chocks on the last sector of the day (Even though you're not actually in the air all that time).

It doesn't include things like training courses, company time visits for your visas, SEP's etc. and any other duties of a similar non-flying nature.

Hope this helps.

[boardingpass]

Well, when we talk hours in my outfit, we're talking actual flying time. So if I say, jee, this month I've got 90 hours, that's only for the time between leaving the gate and chocks on. I would have duty hours around 130.

[midman]

Flying hours, for legal limits, are brakes off, to brakes on times.

[Mike Rosewhich]

CAP 371 UK Rules

Flight Deck. Flying hour limits and duty hour limits apply.
Cabin Crew. Only duty hour limits apply. (Report to off duty.)

[Longhitter]

From EU-OPS subpart Q (FLIGHT AND DUTY TIME LIMITATIONS AND REST REQUIREMENTS):

Block Time:
The time between an aeroplane first moving from its parking place for the purpose of taking off until it comes to rest on the designated parking position and all engines or propellers are stopped.

Duty:

Any task that a crew member is required to carry out associated with the business of an AOC holder. Unless where specific rules are provided for by this Regulation, the Authority shall define whether and to what extent standby is to be accounted for as duty.

Duty period:
A period which starts when a crew member is required by an operator to commence a duty and ends when the crew member is free from all duties.

Flight Duty Period:
A Flight Duty Period (FDP) is any time during which a person operates in an aircraft as a member of its crew. The FDP starts when the crew member is required by an operator to report for a flight or a series of flights; it finishes at the end of the last flight on which he/she is an operating crew member.

Cumulative Duty Hours
An operator shall ensure that the total duty periods to which a crew member is assigned do not exceed:
(a) 190 duty hours in any 28 consecutive days, spread as evenly as practicable throughout this period; and

(b) 60 duty hours in any 7 consecutive days.

Limit on total block times
An operator shall ensure that the total block times of the flights on which an individual crew member is assigned as
an operating crew member does not exceed:
(a) 900 block hours in a calendar year;

(b) 100 block hours in any 28 consecutive days

Please note the differences in definitions!!! 'Flying hours' is not used or defined as an official measure of duty / flight duty / block time.

To go back to the question asked in the first post: the 100 hours referred to are the maximum block hours (see definition of block time above) in any 28 consecutive days.

Please also note that there is no difference in the limits on block time and duty hours between pilots and cabin crew (no mention of 'cabin crew' or 'pilot', just crew member). Where there are differences, they are explicitly stated as in OPS 1.1105 (Maximum daily flight duty period (FDP)):

3.1. For cabin crew being assigned to a flight or series of flights, the FDP of the cabin crew may be extended by the differencein reporting time between cabin crew and flight crew, as long as the difference does not exceed one hour.

CAP 371 pre-dates EU-OPS, including it's subpart Q on FTLs. EU member states must apply EU-OPS, local state rules can only be more restrictive. For UK cabin crew the EU rules are way more restrictive.

As the UK CAA rightfully states:

Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3922/91 Annex III (EU-OPS)
As of 16 July 2008, EU-OPS applied to all aeroplanes operated by European Community Member States' operators. The EU-OPS requirements apply to all EU operators of aeroplanes flying for the purpose of commercial air transportation. The EU-OPS requirements supersede the ANO in these relevant areas and the objective is to reflect these changes so far as necessary in the ANO. EU-OPS does not apply to helicopters.