Airbus Pilots
 

Hi all,

Do pilots who work for an airline that operate both A319s & A320s alternate between the two on their rosters?

E.G. Day 1 A319 [3/4 sectors]
Day 2 A320 [3/4 sectors] etc

Any advise would be appreciated.


Dene

Dene,

Not an Airbus Pilot myself (i fly the 737-800) but have enough mates around the place who are and in answer to your question they do. Airbus family of aircraft (319,320,321) carry a common Type Rating and so you can operate all types during a working week.
Also because the Flight Decks and FBW system is fairly common throught all the Airbus aeroplanes it is not uncommon for a Pilot in an airline that operates the narrow body family (319,320,321) and the the wide body (eg. 330) to fly both types as well. There is a course required to be taken and passed in order to do this and a qualified Airbus driver will be able to provide you much more information on how this works but I believe it's called Cross Crew Qualification (CCQ).
It's a bit like the 737. My Type Rating allows me to fly all the 737s from the 300-900, although there is a differences course for those guys moving from the 300/400/500 to the NG (600/700/800/900) and vice versa.
Hope that helps and I haven't talked too much rubbish!!

Thanks for that CB.

Found out something I didn't know. :ok:

Right on the money! :ok:

Airbus CCQ
 

In a previous airline the A319/A320/A321 were all flown as 'one type'.

There were, I think 6 variants within those three aircraft due to leased aircraft with different engines, weights, systems powered in the EMER CONFIG, cabin seating, etc. There was an A5 sized sheet of differences placed near the Capt's window for that particular model so a self-brief could be accomplished.

It was not uncommon to fly all three in one duty period.

CK

Cloud Bunny has it about right. In our airline we operate the A320, A321 and A330. Most of our Airbus pilots are 'mixed fleet' which means we fly all three variants. The A320 and A321 are considered a single type (same type rating), while the A330 is a different type.

A Cross-Crew Qualification course (CCQ) qualifies A320/1 pilots to fly the A330 and the two types may then be flown together using Mixed Fleet Flying (MFF) rules.

Some conditions include that we must maintain currency on both 'types' (1 landing every 35 days, 3 landings every 90 days) in both the A320/1 and A330. We are also not permitted to fly both the A320/1 and A330 in the same flight duty period (e.g. LGW-PMI-LGW on an A320 then immediately position an A330 LGW-MAN is not allowed).

But it's perfectly acceptable (and typical) to fly the A320 on Monday, A321 on Tuesday and the A330 on Wednesday.

CanadaKid raised a good point, despite being the same 'type' it is our A320/1 fleet which has the most differences (i.e. different engine types, avionics fits, weights etc... within the same 'fleet')!

Interesting stuff this: I was going to ask what siginificant differences in size mean between the models but I see on checking Wiki it's only really length and weight that are siginificant....... but in the spirit of being a nosy so and so......

Does length make a difference of any significance? (Yes, I am aware of the undertones in the question! :rolleyes:)

Second, does weight difference change Vspeeds siginificantly sp as to be noticeable

and finally: given they use 'similar' cockpit layouts, does anyone ever forget what they're in when aloft? (does it make much difference since it's not like we're talking A319/A380 here...)

319 does not like to slow down......... 321 gives a better landing but beware tail scrape on the 321.......... Check the doors page on the ECAM to determine which sub type you are flying as the 319 has one over wing exit the 320 has two and the 321s mid point doors are for and aft of the wing because yes it is easy to forget which one you are on and you can fly all three on same day if required.

Kerdunker,
I hate to be a picky person but beware the doors page! The easyJet, most Germanwings and several other operators A319s also have double-overwing exits and nearly all A318 have one - like most A319s.
I understand that Air France, who operate all 4 A320 Family members, also fly the family as one type.
I do not know what BAW will do (when they also fully operate all 4 types later this month) due to the Steep Approach crew-qualification requirement at LCY for the A318. I'm pretty sure the trans-Atlantic, A318, Steep App. crews could do intra-Europe, short-haul on any other family member from an approvals point of view.
Saman

Don't forget that if you are on a 319,320 or 321 you start engine No2 first and if you then get to fly the A330 the next day remember to start engine No1 first. Cheesy little aide memoire I used in my first few months of MMF was "if it's a Big One, start Engine One"

Well, it helped me not to forget in the early days..............................

What about A330 and A340-500, A340-600 can the same pilot switch from one type to another within the same roster?

Very true. The doors on an a/c are not based on the a/c type but how many pax the operator of the a/c is deciding to squeeze in. This applies to the A320 and A319 at least. Some airlines I've noticed have two overwing doors on the A320 and A319.

Yes, can do a CCQ course for A330 and A340 and a differences course for the 340-300/500/600/200. So when CX had A330, A340-300 and A340-600 one pilot could fly all types.