Standby get out for Airlines
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Join Date: Apr 2012
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Standby get out for Airlines
Just a quick question for your thoughts, our airline puts standby on the roster almost daily, for eg.
Report at 0800 Position to another base, fly 2 sectors land out of base at 15.00, Position home at 16.00 to Finnish at 17.00. They will put a sby on the roster between 15.15 and 16.00. Very rarely do you get home on that flight, you get a call to operate another 2 sectors and position home at 19.30.
Other days the sby is before a shift and after, very rarely is there a shift where there is no standby.
Is it even legal to put sby between flights, or is it just an easy get out for the rostering staff knowing we don't have enough crew?
Would appreciate your views.
Report at 0800 Position to another base, fly 2 sectors land out of base at 15.00, Position home at 16.00 to Finnish at 17.00. They will put a sby on the roster between 15.15 and 16.00. Very rarely do you get home on that flight, you get a call to operate another 2 sectors and position home at 19.30.
Other days the sby is before a shift and after, very rarely is there a shift where there is no standby.
Is it even legal to put sby between flights, or is it just an easy get out for the rostering staff knowing we don't have enough crew?
Would appreciate your views.
Join Date: Jul 2001
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lvj
Under the presumption you're talking a UK AOC working to CAP371, i can't see any reason why not. The sby should be a prompt for you to be aware you may be needed to fly. If you're paxing back anyway all the duty counts towards the duty limits and if you're on a lot of sby + fdp you might hit the limits quicker than the airline wants you to.
It might be seen as best practice by aircrew, you have a natural dislike of standbys generally....If the base is undermanned then this might not be ideal, however is this better than re-basing someone to that base who doesn't want to be there (you?) a la Ryanair unlucky off you go..
Under the presumption you're talking a UK AOC working to CAP371, i can't see any reason why not. The sby should be a prompt for you to be aware you may be needed to fly. If you're paxing back anyway all the duty counts towards the duty limits and if you're on a lot of sby + fdp you might hit the limits quicker than the airline wants you to.
It might be seen as best practice by aircrew, you have a natural dislike of standbys generally....If the base is undermanned then this might not be ideal, however is this better than re-basing someone to that base who doesn't want to be there (you?) a la Ryanair unlucky off you go..
Join Date: Jul 2012
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I have little doubt that this post is referring to the Kings and Queens of Gutter Rostering - Eastern Airways. A place where standards are are regularly set and regularly achieved. Unfortunately, these standards are the gates in the race to the very bottom of the barrel.
I don't know, if I am rostered to do what is referred to as an 'early' duty, I don't believe it unreasonable to expect to my duty day to finish around the time my rostered flights are completed. Not at Eastern. Unless the highly-efficient crewing department have managed to tip you towards your 55hrs/195hrs duty limit, then you will find yourself on some form of standby immediately after. Quite often (i.e. 2-3 times per month), this is used to position the unsuspecting member of crew to another base to operate and/or spend an unexpected night away ready to plug another gap in the masterplan for the next morning.
Refusal isn't an option. As crew, we're pretty vulnerable. Whilst we were generally delighted to see our previous CP leave recently, we now have a temporary CP who is a nice enough chap but even he would be the first to admit he doesn't want the role and is only keeping the seat warm until the next loon thinks that taking the role is a good idea. It's left to the screeching harridan who assumes the duty of Crewing Manager to threaten/bully/cajole crew into 'accepting' changes, even though those changes ride roughshod all over our lives and those of our families. I don't know if she gets a inflated ego from this behaviour but then again, I believe that us current crew aren't the first to pay for her own self-inflation...
It will come as no surprise to many in the industry that Eastern are continuing to sink to even further depths of Machiavellian scheming. We are in a weak position. If desire to leave was enough to escape, we would all be flying shiny jets a few times per month for the big money. Realistically though, we are currently stuck and the big people know it. A small few of our number have made it out and we can only applaud them. For us who are left, we have no choice. The main problem we have is that we don't have any form of rostering agreement. As long as it's legal, it's happening. Despite the CAA hearing from crew on an anonymous basis on an all too regular basis, nothing has happened. And remember folks, refusal of a duty is a disciplinary offence. We are right royally screwed.
A very sad and unhappy place.
I don't know, if I am rostered to do what is referred to as an 'early' duty, I don't believe it unreasonable to expect to my duty day to finish around the time my rostered flights are completed. Not at Eastern. Unless the highly-efficient crewing department have managed to tip you towards your 55hrs/195hrs duty limit, then you will find yourself on some form of standby immediately after. Quite often (i.e. 2-3 times per month), this is used to position the unsuspecting member of crew to another base to operate and/or spend an unexpected night away ready to plug another gap in the masterplan for the next morning.
Refusal isn't an option. As crew, we're pretty vulnerable. Whilst we were generally delighted to see our previous CP leave recently, we now have a temporary CP who is a nice enough chap but even he would be the first to admit he doesn't want the role and is only keeping the seat warm until the next loon thinks that taking the role is a good idea. It's left to the screeching harridan who assumes the duty of Crewing Manager to threaten/bully/cajole crew into 'accepting' changes, even though those changes ride roughshod all over our lives and those of our families. I don't know if she gets a inflated ego from this behaviour but then again, I believe that us current crew aren't the first to pay for her own self-inflation...
It will come as no surprise to many in the industry that Eastern are continuing to sink to even further depths of Machiavellian scheming. We are in a weak position. If desire to leave was enough to escape, we would all be flying shiny jets a few times per month for the big money. Realistically though, we are currently stuck and the big people know it. A small few of our number have made it out and we can only applaud them. For us who are left, we have no choice. The main problem we have is that we don't have any form of rostering agreement. As long as it's legal, it's happening. Despite the CAA hearing from crew on an anonymous basis on an all too regular basis, nothing has happened. And remember folks, refusal of a duty is a disciplinary offence. We are right royally screwed.
A very sad and unhappy place.
