The Life of a Pilot
Join Date: Aug 2004
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For those who know what a regional jet operation is like, I have done that. A CRJ 200 around the traps having lots of fun and getting pretty good money for it. Lots of overnights and great crew to fly with. Now for what I do now.
Wake up after getting home at 12.30 or 0100 from the previous day. Mope around the house for a while and pick at a bit of food here and there. See the dog who is overjoyed that I am up am mobile. Give him a pat and mutter the words walk under my breath. Forgetting that his ears are supped up he bolts off down the hallway to the door scrathing the timber floors as he goes. I walk the dog getting strange looks from all those around me as I look like I have done 3 long haul trips back to back. I come home and have some breakfast and then do normal things. At 13.30 I drive to work in the west of Melbourne, park the car and walk through some slack security to go into the office. I spend the next hour in the work gym before having a shower and putting my uniform on. I have a shave and all the rest of it and walk down stairs at about 14.40 for a 1500 start. I see what exactly I am doing for the 8 hour shift. It seems that today I am on the van. That is the police van driving around the district and attending criminal matters. I then go to my locker where all my paperwork is kept and get my equipment belt out which holds all the goodies. I go to the watchouse and someone hands me out all my equpment. That is my 38 calibre revolver with 6 rounds and six spare, my asp batton (extendable) my capsicum spray and a portable radio. I also get a melways and other items that all police carry. I say hi to anyone I am working with and then decide who will drive and who will do the running sheet. That is the person not driving will keep documented evidence of everything that we do, everybody we speak to, every car we intercept and so on. This running sheet can be many pages long, depending on what you have on for the day. This written evidence is a vital part of your experiences during the day and sometimes they are called as evidence to go to court. Today I am driving. We drive out of the station and on to general patrol duties. We communicate with police operations via radio and now a computer in the car. When there is nothing specific to do we drive around and check on local crime hot spots, intercept cars for a large manner of reasons, execute warrants that we may have (arresting people and bringing them to the station to interview them for a crime that we could not arrest them for at the time). However it is not long before police communications give us jobs to do. That is members of the public have called 000 and requested police assistance. This could range from car accidents, domestics, violence of all types, drug use and dealing, murders, suicides, fires etc........... I have seen them all and although the specialist units may come to some of these things (homicide squad), often the divvy van is the first police on the scene. I see a whole number of things. One which stands out in my mind was a tripple fatality rail accident V's car. You can only imagine......Throughout the day my partner is frantically writing all the things we do and just about everything else. We do a lot of paperwork during the day and often finish a shift with a mountain of reports and other things. Everything in this job is recordable and must be kept for a certain period of time. It is now 22.45 and we start to head back to the station, but only if we are not doing any jobs at the time. The knock off time is 23.00, but this is never attainable. You may get back to the station at 23.00, but probably not. You could get called to an urgent job at 22.55 and you are obliged to go. This could leave you finishing the shift anywhere up to 8 hours later, depending on what the job was. You might need to arrest people and then interview them. There is an enourmas amopunt of things that may need to be done. The days can be exhausting, but sometimes you have a good day and may get home before 00.00.
You get into the station and remove all your equipment and hand it back in. You then will make sure all your paperwork is done and if not you do it. This can take a long time, especially if you were not able to do it during the shift as you went from job to job, always in a hurry. You hand in the running sheet and all the paperwork (reports) to the sergeant and over the course of the night he/she will check it. If it is all ok it will go to the snr sgt to sign off, if not it will come back to you to amend. Eventually you leave driving home you see no crime and no cars, but I guess you are not looking for them. You get home at 00.00 and you may start again at 0700 doing the same thing. It happens a lot...
Wake up after getting home at 12.30 or 0100 from the previous day. Mope around the house for a while and pick at a bit of food here and there. See the dog who is overjoyed that I am up am mobile. Give him a pat and mutter the words walk under my breath. Forgetting that his ears are supped up he bolts off down the hallway to the door scrathing the timber floors as he goes. I walk the dog getting strange looks from all those around me as I look like I have done 3 long haul trips back to back. I come home and have some breakfast and then do normal things. At 13.30 I drive to work in the west of Melbourne, park the car and walk through some slack security to go into the office. I spend the next hour in the work gym before having a shower and putting my uniform on. I have a shave and all the rest of it and walk down stairs at about 14.40 for a 1500 start. I see what exactly I am doing for the 8 hour shift. It seems that today I am on the van. That is the police van driving around the district and attending criminal matters. I then go to my locker where all my paperwork is kept and get my equipment belt out which holds all the goodies. I go to the watchouse and someone hands me out all my equpment. That is my 38 calibre revolver with 6 rounds and six spare, my asp batton (extendable) my capsicum spray and a portable radio. I also get a melways and other items that all police carry. I say hi to anyone I am working with and then decide who will drive and who will do the running sheet. That is the person not driving will keep documented evidence of everything that we do, everybody we speak to, every car we intercept and so on. This running sheet can be many pages long, depending on what you have on for the day. This written evidence is a vital part of your experiences during the day and sometimes they are called as evidence to go to court. Today I am driving. We drive out of the station and on to general patrol duties. We communicate with police operations via radio and now a computer in the car. When there is nothing specific to do we drive around and check on local crime hot spots, intercept cars for a large manner of reasons, execute warrants that we may have (arresting people and bringing them to the station to interview them for a crime that we could not arrest them for at the time). However it is not long before police communications give us jobs to do. That is members of the public have called 000 and requested police assistance. This could range from car accidents, domestics, violence of all types, drug use and dealing, murders, suicides, fires etc........... I have seen them all and although the specialist units may come to some of these things (homicide squad), often the divvy van is the first police on the scene. I see a whole number of things. One which stands out in my mind was a tripple fatality rail accident V's car. You can only imagine......Throughout the day my partner is frantically writing all the things we do and just about everything else. We do a lot of paperwork during the day and often finish a shift with a mountain of reports and other things. Everything in this job is recordable and must be kept for a certain period of time. It is now 22.45 and we start to head back to the station, but only if we are not doing any jobs at the time. The knock off time is 23.00, but this is never attainable. You may get back to the station at 23.00, but probably not. You could get called to an urgent job at 22.55 and you are obliged to go. This could leave you finishing the shift anywhere up to 8 hours later, depending on what the job was. You might need to arrest people and then interview them. There is an enourmas amopunt of things that may need to be done. The days can be exhausting, but sometimes you have a good day and may get home before 00.00.
You get into the station and remove all your equipment and hand it back in. You then will make sure all your paperwork is done and if not you do it. This can take a long time, especially if you were not able to do it during the shift as you went from job to job, always in a hurry. You hand in the running sheet and all the paperwork (reports) to the sergeant and over the course of the night he/she will check it. If it is all ok it will go to the snr sgt to sign off, if not it will come back to you to amend. Eventually you leave driving home you see no crime and no cars, but I guess you are not looking for them. You get home at 00.00 and you may start again at 0700 doing the same thing. It happens a lot...
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Hingey, read this and this. All available within this thread. Which you have read, of course!
Scroggs
Scroggs
aka Capt PPRuNe
Join Date: May 1995
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Been flying professionally now for 11 years. Started on the EMB110 (Bandit) then the HS748 (Budgie) followed by a succession of Boeings, B757/767, B737-300/700 and now just starting out on the B747-400. (Jeez it's big!)
Done the whole gamut including night freight and regional pax work on the turboprops and short, medium and long haul (Inclusive Tour) work on the Boeings. Now doing permanent long haul on the Big Boeing. (Jeez it's big!) Mind you, I've only just started line training on the B747 and I have an awful lot still to learn. Biggest difference is the size and energy of the beast. Whilst practicing to carve my initials in the thresholds of the various destinations I am still surprised when I find we have 'landed' (I use the term sparingly and only if the aircraft is reusable) that my eye height is still at around 50 feet, which is where I used to only just start thinking about starting the flare, and the 16 wheels of the landing gear are making all sorts of tortured sounds and rumbles nearly 100 feet behind me.
Because we get to taxy the a/c from both seats it is a real challenge to keep on the centreline of the taxiways. Not a lot of clearance for the gear or the wingtips at some locations. Sitting about three stories up gives new meaning to 'perspective' when you are trying to manoeuvre 320+ tons of Boeing, fuel and SLF whilst still on the ground. With the main body gear steering the B747-400 can make quite tight turns but you still have a 'sense' of 'acreage' behind you. (Jeez it's big!)
Got five trips rostered this month (Barbados, Orlando, Newark, JFK and Los Angeles) but expect to average four. Once line training is completed will be able to bid for trips. Hoping to do some out of Manchester as it would save me commuting.
Arrive at work, check in and sign sheet. Collect paperwork which is all prepared for us by other mortals
and aim to get to a/c about one hour before ETD. PNF does the walk round (Jeez it's big!) whilst PF enters route and sets up departure. Wait for final ZFW and then pass final fuel to fueler. Lots of automatic goodies such as Pre-departure clearances via ACARS and other snazzy stuff but I'm far too inexperienced to go into detail. 
Makes crossing the Atlantic much more pleasurable without having to fight to get a word in edgeways on HF with CPDLC and ADS. Also, getting the latest weather for en-route alternates is a cinch. Non of that remembering to tune into the half hourly HF Volmet.
Being able to take crew rest when there's three or more of you on the flight deck is also a huge bonus. Makes a big difference to how you feel after nine or more hours cooped up when you have to get your wits together for the approach and landing. The beds aren't luxurious but you can lie down fully stretched out with pillows, sheets and duvets. I have since found that the post-prandial nap is the best slot to go for.
Food... must learn self control. Nothing happens on-board until the pre-flight sandwiches, fruit, chocolate and crisps has been delivered. Hot drinks served in proper chinaware as are all meals. Proper cloth napkins and a menu based on the Upper Class meals. Weight control will be my bug-bear if I'm not going to have others say ("Jeez he's big!")
Best of all is the friendly crews, both flight and cabin, I get to work with. There is usually at least 18 or more of us. Never a shortage of familiar faces to meet up with once we settle into our hotel downroute. So far I've only been to Orlando and Barbados, destinations I was already familiar with from my time on the B767 so I'm looking forward to the east coast US and New York destinations as well as South Africa and the rest of the Caribbean.
I've found that the bigger and heavier the metal, the amount of paperwork increases exponentially. Lots of it and possibly one of the more difficult things to learn about the job. On the other hand, I've found the opposite is true when it comes to the size of the manuals. The B747 is truly a wonderful aircraft and now that I've got four as opposed to two engines to deal with there is a huge amount of redundancy available. Shut down an engine on this and apart from a slight performance penalty you lose no other important system which means that you are still fully CATIIIb capable with all four hydraulic systems. In fact, it is the loss of a hydraulic system that is probably the most restricting system on the a/c.
Overall, as Scroggs has already mentioned, now that we are long haul gods working for probably the best UK airline, there is no higher mountain to climb and I shall certainly look forward to settling down to finish my career flying the flag. It's a lifestyle issue and I certainly look forward to only having to report to work about four times a month with ample opportunity to top up a tan, buy goods with very favourable exchange rates and take my family in style to good destinations with one of the best staff travel agreements.
Each time I get on the B744 (Jeez it's big!) I can't help smile and remember the number of times I have said to myself that I will fly one of those one day. Now that I do get to fly it, I must remember to wipe the smile off my face.
Done the whole gamut including night freight and regional pax work on the turboprops and short, medium and long haul (Inclusive Tour) work on the Boeings. Now doing permanent long haul on the Big Boeing. (Jeez it's big!) Mind you, I've only just started line training on the B747 and I have an awful lot still to learn. Biggest difference is the size and energy of the beast. Whilst practicing to carve my initials in the thresholds of the various destinations I am still surprised when I find we have 'landed' (I use the term sparingly and only if the aircraft is reusable) that my eye height is still at around 50 feet, which is where I used to only just start thinking about starting the flare, and the 16 wheels of the landing gear are making all sorts of tortured sounds and rumbles nearly 100 feet behind me.
Because we get to taxy the a/c from both seats it is a real challenge to keep on the centreline of the taxiways. Not a lot of clearance for the gear or the wingtips at some locations. Sitting about three stories up gives new meaning to 'perspective' when you are trying to manoeuvre 320+ tons of Boeing, fuel and SLF whilst still on the ground. With the main body gear steering the B747-400 can make quite tight turns but you still have a 'sense' of 'acreage' behind you. (Jeez it's big!)
Got five trips rostered this month (Barbados, Orlando, Newark, JFK and Los Angeles) but expect to average four. Once line training is completed will be able to bid for trips. Hoping to do some out of Manchester as it would save me commuting.
Arrive at work, check in and sign sheet. Collect paperwork which is all prepared for us by other mortals
and aim to get to a/c about one hour before ETD. PNF does the walk round (Jeez it's big!) whilst PF enters route and sets up departure. Wait for final ZFW and then pass final fuel to fueler. Lots of automatic goodies such as Pre-departure clearances via ACARS and other snazzy stuff but I'm far too inexperienced to go into detail. Makes crossing the Atlantic much more pleasurable without having to fight to get a word in edgeways on HF with CPDLC and ADS. Also, getting the latest weather for en-route alternates is a cinch. Non of that remembering to tune into the half hourly HF Volmet.Being able to take crew rest when there's three or more of you on the flight deck is also a huge bonus. Makes a big difference to how you feel after nine or more hours cooped up when you have to get your wits together for the approach and landing. The beds aren't luxurious but you can lie down fully stretched out with pillows, sheets and duvets. I have since found that the post-prandial nap is the best slot to go for.
Food... must learn self control. Nothing happens on-board until the pre-flight sandwiches, fruit, chocolate and crisps has been delivered. Hot drinks served in proper chinaware as are all meals. Proper cloth napkins and a menu based on the Upper Class meals. Weight control will be my bug-bear if I'm not going to have others say ("Jeez he's big!")
Best of all is the friendly crews, both flight and cabin, I get to work with. There is usually at least 18 or more of us. Never a shortage of familiar faces to meet up with once we settle into our hotel downroute. So far I've only been to Orlando and Barbados, destinations I was already familiar with from my time on the B767 so I'm looking forward to the east coast US and New York destinations as well as South Africa and the rest of the Caribbean.
I've found that the bigger and heavier the metal, the amount of paperwork increases exponentially. Lots of it and possibly one of the more difficult things to learn about the job. On the other hand, I've found the opposite is true when it comes to the size of the manuals. The B747 is truly a wonderful aircraft and now that I've got four as opposed to two engines to deal with there is a huge amount of redundancy available. Shut down an engine on this and apart from a slight performance penalty you lose no other important system which means that you are still fully CATIIIb capable with all four hydraulic systems. In fact, it is the loss of a hydraulic system that is probably the most restricting system on the a/c.
Overall, as Scroggs has already mentioned, now that we are long haul gods
working for probably the best UK airline, there is no higher mountain to climb and I shall certainly look forward to settling down to finish my career flying the flag. It's a lifestyle issue and I certainly look forward to only having to report to work about four times a month with ample opportunity to top up a tan, buy goods with very favourable exchange rates and take my family in style to good destinations with one of the best staff travel agreements.Each time I get on the B744 (Jeez it's big!) I can't help smile and remember the number of times I have said to myself that I will fly one of those one day. Now that I do get to fly it, I must remember to wipe the smile off my face.
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I like it.
There's so many negative stories flying around (no pun intended) that reading this is a real joy.
Danny - really pleased for you. Really like it when I hear positive things like that.
Way way way down to pecking order and looking forward to the future. Thanks for the boost.
There's so many negative stories flying around (no pun intended) that reading this is a real joy.
Danny - really pleased for you. Really like it when I hear positive things like that.
Way way way down to pecking order and looking forward to the future. Thanks for the boost.
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Danny
amazing post, Big thanks
im about to enter the industry and hearing storys like that fills me with the extra bit of determination to get there!!!!
Thanks to everyone whos posted there all top notch.
Keep em coming.
Thanks
amazing post, Big thanks
im about to enter the industry and hearing storys like that fills me with the extra bit of determination to get there!!!!
Thanks to everyone whos posted there all top notch.
Keep em coming.
Thanks
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Sheeeesssh Danny...and Im just learning how to get used to the 757!!!.......by the way how was the first trip?...did you improve your tan?
The PPrune fellows are out on the lash tommorrow night...aptly enough we are starting in a walkabout.....no doubt Mr B..will give you a full report!.....I fully expect to see him fall over before I do!
Cheers H
The PPrune fellows are out on the lash tommorrow night...aptly enough we are starting in a walkabout.....no doubt Mr B..will give you a full report!.....I fully expect to see him fall over before I do!
Cheers H
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Did you have a choice of aircraft at Virgin?
Wow - great post Danny. Did they offer you a choice between the 400 and the A340 or did they just have training slots for the 400 at the time? Great job!
Look forward to reading further job descriptions.
Look forward to reading further job descriptions.
aka Capt PPRuNe
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Scroggs, as you well know, what with you being an ex Boeing man, those of us fortunate enough to be blessed with currency on a proper type wouldn't admit to any desire to fly a Tupperware Jet. 
Besides, we aren't known as the 'Beach Fleet' for nothing. 
I'm sure there will an amount of kudos when the A380 finally gets airborne and on line but you still won't be sitting 3 stories up when you are taxying. Besides, I think the route structure for the A380 may be a bit limiting for my tastes. Oh, and it's definitely an ugly aircraft. The A340-600, now that's very pretty but it's still only a Tupperware jet and I don't think I trust those Airbus software designers enough, at least not yet. Their track record isn't so hot at the moment, especially when it comes to fuel control computers!
Of course, being a member of the Sumo Brigade I'm not svelte enough to strap on such a sleek machine as the 346 and the 744 matches my 'style' much more aptly. Of course, Scroggs in your Lycra bike suit will no doubt feel very much at home on your fleet!
I was not offered any particular fleet but out of 8 of us who were interviewed and were accepted, 4 were already Airbus rated and 4 were current on various Boeings and the Boeing guys went on to the 744 and the Airbus people went on to the Airbus. I think the Airbus pilots just did a CCQ course and we Boeing people did a ZFT conversion. Conversion training, including ground school and simulator took two months and you can expect line training to take about the same amount of time.
On a separate note, I would like you all to know that Scroggs and my reference to his 'Lycra' bike suit, whilst in jest, has a more noteworthy reason for being mentioned. Those of you who have attended a PPRuNe bash may remember Scroggs and the thought of him in Lycra could lead to the necessity to have some serious counselling. Of course, he doesn't wear this type of clothing for fun and it is only fair to let you know that he is currently in training for a bike ride from London to Paris some time during September.
Scroggs being an ex-Air Force type will be looking for sponsorship for this marathon bike ride as it is in aid of The British Legion Poppy Appeal. A most noteworthy cause and it gives him a chance to indulge in his Lycra fetish at the same time.
Anyone reading this who would like to help Scroggs raise some much needed funding for this appeal can do so by clicking here. A crack team of PPRuNe photographers will be on hand in Paris to gather evidence of this classic combination of charitable fetish fund raising when he duly arrives there. The results will be published and we strongly advise you to keep young children and those of a sensitive disposition away from these bulletin boards during that period.
So, good luck Tim and you can admit that the real reason for your current fitness training regime is that you have to be small enough to fit into those designer Tupperware Jet seats. Us Big Boys flying the girder reinforced macho jets are quite happy being so well ballasted!
Support Tim Collins aka Scroggs raise money for The British Legion Poppy Appeal by sponsoring him on a London to Paris bike ride this September. CLICK HERE for more information.
Besides, we aren't known as the 'Beach Fleet' for nothing. I'm sure there will an amount of kudos when the A380 finally gets airborne and on line but you still won't be sitting 3 stories up when you are taxying. Besides, I think the route structure for the A380 may be a bit limiting for my tastes. Oh, and it's definitely an ugly aircraft. The A340-600, now that's very pretty but it's still only a Tupperware jet and I don't think I trust those Airbus software designers enough, at least not yet. Their track record isn't so hot at the moment, especially when it comes to fuel control computers!
Of course, being a member of the Sumo Brigade I'm not svelte enough to strap on such a sleek machine as the 346 and the 744 matches my 'style' much more aptly. Of course, Scroggs in your Lycra bike suit will no doubt feel very much at home on your fleet!
I was not offered any particular fleet but out of 8 of us who were interviewed and were accepted, 4 were already Airbus rated and 4 were current on various Boeings and the Boeing guys went on to the 744 and the Airbus people went on to the Airbus. I think the Airbus pilots just did a CCQ course and we Boeing people did a ZFT conversion. Conversion training, including ground school and simulator took two months and you can expect line training to take about the same amount of time.
On a separate note, I would like you all to know that Scroggs and my reference to his 'Lycra' bike suit, whilst in jest, has a more noteworthy reason for being mentioned. Those of you who have attended a PPRuNe bash may remember Scroggs and the thought of him in Lycra could lead to the necessity to have some serious counselling. Of course, he doesn't wear this type of clothing for fun and it is only fair to let you know that he is currently in training for a bike ride from London to Paris some time during September.
Scroggs being an ex-Air Force type will be looking for sponsorship for this marathon bike ride as it is in aid of The British Legion Poppy Appeal. A most noteworthy cause and it gives him a chance to indulge in his Lycra fetish at the same time.
Anyone reading this who would like to help Scroggs raise some much needed funding for this appeal can do so by clicking here. A crack team of PPRuNe photographers will be on hand in Paris to gather evidence of this classic combination of charitable fetish fund raising when he duly arrives there. The results will be published and we strongly advise you to keep young children and those of a sensitive disposition away from these bulletin boards during that period.
So, good luck Tim and you can admit that the real reason for your current fitness training regime is that you have to be small enough to fit into those designer Tupperware Jet seats. Us Big Boys flying the girder reinforced macho jets are quite happy being so well ballasted!
Support Tim Collins aka Scroggs raise money for The British Legion Poppy Appeal by sponsoring him on a London to Paris bike ride this September. CLICK HERE for more information.
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Ouch, Rowley - unfair! My Trent 500s are far from being hairdryers - we're not talking about the A340-300 here! In fact, the total power of the A346 is very similar to the B744, as are the weights.
Danny, you promised not to mention the fetish angle. Now I might have to shave my legs! But thanks for the promo - I have one donation from a Wannabe already (thanks Fonawah!!).
I can see this banter between Virgin fleets could get out of hand...
Scroggs
Danny, you promised not to mention the fetish angle. Now I might have to shave my legs!
But thanks for the promo - I have one donation from a Wannabe already (thanks Fonawah!!).I can see this banter between Virgin fleets could get out of hand...
Scroggs
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James asked about sectors a few posts ago.
Sectors are "legs" which varies between type of flying.
For the long haul guys it might be Heathrow to New York would be one sector.
For the charter operators it might be Gatwick to Tenerife is one sector.
On long haul they usually do one leg, have time off, then do the return leg. But they might also do a short hop sector.
On charter for instance, if we fly Gatwick to Skiathos then we can't take off from Skiathos with enough fuel to get home plus passengers and bags, so we'll put a bit of fuel on and go home via somewhere else.
So Gatwick to Skiathos is one sector.
Skiathos to Thessaloniki is one sector.
Thessaloniki to Gatwick is one sector.
But usually for charters you do 2 sector days - out and back.
Sometimes though you might have to position an aircraft afterwards, say Gatwick to Manchester. That is another sector.
The total hours you are allowed to work depends on how many sectors you do - if you are doing loads of sectors then the total time on duty will have to be less than if you are doing, say, Gatwick to Paphos and back, which is max duty time 2 sectors.
Charter flights for the big holiday airlines is more like scheduled really. We tend to do a complete mix of earlies, lates and nights on our rosters. So you might do Faro and back one day, Minorca and back the next, then Tenerife and back, Fuerteventura and back, a night Ibiza and then a night Paphos.
Except they wouldn't be in that order cos most UK airlines go to certain airports on certain days, eg:-
Mon - Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) or Minorca or Dalaman
Tues - Tenerife
Wed - Fuerteventura or Paphos
Thurs - Lanzarote
Fri - Tenerife
Sat - Ibiza or Majorca
Sun - Malaga and Bodrum
The shorter flights do vary on days now - things like Faros, Majorca and Malagas...
Sectors are "legs" which varies between type of flying.
For the long haul guys it might be Heathrow to New York would be one sector.
For the charter operators it might be Gatwick to Tenerife is one sector.
On long haul they usually do one leg, have time off, then do the return leg. But they might also do a short hop sector.
On charter for instance, if we fly Gatwick to Skiathos then we can't take off from Skiathos with enough fuel to get home plus passengers and bags, so we'll put a bit of fuel on and go home via somewhere else.
So Gatwick to Skiathos is one sector.
Skiathos to Thessaloniki is one sector.
Thessaloniki to Gatwick is one sector.
But usually for charters you do 2 sector days - out and back.
Sometimes though you might have to position an aircraft afterwards, say Gatwick to Manchester. That is another sector.
The total hours you are allowed to work depends on how many sectors you do - if you are doing loads of sectors then the total time on duty will have to be less than if you are doing, say, Gatwick to Paphos and back, which is max duty time 2 sectors.
Charter flights for the big holiday airlines is more like scheduled really. We tend to do a complete mix of earlies, lates and nights on our rosters. So you might do Faro and back one day, Minorca and back the next, then Tenerife and back, Fuerteventura and back, a night Ibiza and then a night Paphos.
Except they wouldn't be in that order cos most UK airlines go to certain airports on certain days, eg:-
Mon - Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) or Minorca or Dalaman
Tues - Tenerife
Wed - Fuerteventura or Paphos
Thurs - Lanzarote
Fri - Tenerife
Sat - Ibiza or Majorca
Sun - Malaga and Bodrum
The shorter flights do vary on days now - things like Faros, Majorca and Malagas...
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Mix of short and long haul
Airbus Girl,
Great post - very informative. Are there pilots at your airline who are cross-qualified on the A320 and the A330 (not sure which airline you fly for) or the 757/767? I know that the 757 and 767 are the same rating.
If so, how does that impact their schedules - will they do a mix of short-haul and long-haul in one month or just short haul for one month and then just long-haul for the next month?
Do pilots tend to prefer a mix or just one type of flying?
Cheers
Great post - very informative. Are there pilots at your airline who are cross-qualified on the A320 and the A330 (not sure which airline you fly for) or the 757/767? I know that the 757 and 767 are the same rating.
If so, how does that impact their schedules - will they do a mix of short-haul and long-haul in one month or just short haul for one month and then just long-haul for the next month?
Do pilots tend to prefer a mix or just one type of flying?
Cheers
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Riker
We have 2 fleets - Airbus and Boeing.
We've not got A330s so Airbus pilots do purely short haul ( if you can call Paphos or Tel Aviv short haul!!). They fly both A320 and A321, although I understand that the "conversion" to A330 is only a couple of days (I could be wrong here) and that some airlines have got "cross qualified" pilots for A330/ A320 series.
The Boeing pilots fly a mix of long and short haul, and as you quite rightly point out, are qualified to fly the B757 and B767. Generally there is a complete mix of flights, one or two long haul trips a month surrounded by lots of short ones, but it depends on the trips because some of the long haul trips are bullets and some are much longer. There is no preference system at the airline so if you hate long haul you are stuck with it unless you change fleet and if you hate short haul then tough luck.
The airline is increasing its long haul so it is quite likely that in future the long haul fleet will be seperate.
We have 2 fleets - Airbus and Boeing.
We've not got A330s so Airbus pilots do purely short haul ( if you can call Paphos or Tel Aviv short haul!!). They fly both A320 and A321, although I understand that the "conversion" to A330 is only a couple of days (I could be wrong here) and that some airlines have got "cross qualified" pilots for A330/ A320 series.
The Boeing pilots fly a mix of long and short haul, and as you quite rightly point out, are qualified to fly the B757 and B767. Generally there is a complete mix of flights, one or two long haul trips a month surrounded by lots of short ones, but it depends on the trips because some of the long haul trips are bullets and some are much longer. There is no preference system at the airline so if you hate long haul you are stuck with it unless you change fleet and if you hate short haul then tough luck.
The airline is increasing its long haul so it is quite likely that in future the long haul fleet will be seperate.
PPRuNe Handmaiden
After successfully completing my first tour I can honestly say that was fun. I can't see myself heading to the airlines or airline type operation again.
