Know Your CWA
On this page you will find all articles of the “Know your CWA” series, covering the CWA, which will come into effect as of 01 January 2020.
We will focus on the individual chapters, addressing the most important issues in the relevant paragraphs and providing situational examples for a better understanding of “your” CWA. Beside written information short video clips should help you to become familiar with the rules in order to be able to enforce the application in daily operation of “your” CWA.
Off- Day Scheme
Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.
Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. If a pilot notices a non-compliance with the CWA it is his/her right that the roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.
36.16. Off-Day Scheme
36.16.1. General
- An Off-Day is defined as a period of 24 hours free of all Duties commencing at 00:01 local time.
- All Off-Days will be fixed at Home Base.
- Each Pilot is entitled to 12 Off-Days at Home Base per Roster Period. Consecutive Off Days will be allotted to each Pilot in 2 blocks and will be clearly identified on the Rosters as:
- 7 Off-Days (identified as ‘A’ Days), and
- 5 Off-Days (identified as ‘B’ Days) during 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year or
- 5 Flexible Off-Days (identified as ‘C’ Days) during the other 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year.
- The number of ‘B’ Day blocks scheduled by the Company is limited to not more than 2 per Calendar Quarter, except if requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot concerned.
- The entitlement for ‘B’ Days per calendar year for a Pilot on a part time scheme providing full Roster Periods off is reduced according to Table 12 below:
Number of full Roster Periods off per calendar year Number of ‘B’ Day blocks per calendar year 1 6 2 5 3 4 4 3 5 or more 3 - The entitlement for ‘B’ Days per calendar year for newly employed Pilots in the first year of service and Pilots when on long term sick leave (2 full Roster Periods or more) is reduced according to Table 13 below:
Number of full Roster Periods after completing initial ground training as defined in Article 43 or full Roster Periods after returning from long term sick leave Number of ‘B’ Day blocks per calendar year 11 or more 6 9 or 10 5 7 or 8 4 5 or 6 3 3 or 4 2 2 1 1 0 - Unless requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot concerned, no Duties consisting solely of ground training will be scheduled between
- two Off-Day blocks,
- an Off-Day block and a Vacation Period.
- No period in excess of 19 consecutive Duty days will be scheduled between 2 blocks of Off- Days or a block of Off-Days and a Vacation Period, except if requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot.
- Not more than twice per calendar year up to 2 days of a block of ‘A’ Days can be scheduled to overlap into the next Roster Period, unless requested by or with the prior consent of the Pilot concerned.
- A Pilot can request via the PBS:
- To have the block of ‘A’ Days and the block of ‘B’ Days or ‘C’ Days planned either separately or together,
- to have a block of ‘B’ Days planned in a specific Roster Period,
- to have a block of Off-Days starting on a specific date,
- a block of Off-Days to encompass specific dates.
Below you will find some comments and explanations regarding Art. 36.16.1. However, most of this article should be self-explanatory.
- This paragraph defines the term Off-Day as free off all duties commencing at 00.01 local time.
- Off-Days can only be scheduled at Home Base, which is defined in CWA Part III as “For all Employees at the Company and for the Company itself: Luxembourg Airport.”
- Stipulates that per monthly Roster 12 Off-Days have to be scheduled. The Off-Days will be allocated in 2 blocks:
- 7 off days identified as “A” Days and
- 5 off days identified as “B” Days during 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year or
- 5 off days identified as “C” Days during the other 6 Roster Periods of a calendar year.
The text of this paragraph does not prevent that both Off-Day blocks, “A” Days and “B” Days/“C” Days are scheduled back-to-back, meaning as one block of consecutive Off- Days. However even if scheduled as a block “C” Days remain “C” Days and “A” Days remain “A” Days, meaning that “C” Days could still be rescheduled without the consent of the pilot. We will expand on “A” Days, “B” Days and “C” Days in the next issue in more detail.
- This paragraph defines how often the company can schedule “B” Day blocks per Calendar Quarter. We will focus on “B” Days in more detail in the next issue
- This paragraph defines the entitlement for “B” Days per calendar year for pilots being on part time providing full roster periods off.
- This paragraph defines the entitlement for “B” Days per calendar year for newly employed pilots in the first year of service and pilots when on long term sick leave.
- This paragraph prevents, that ground training events, e.g. simulator or ground school, are scheduled between two Off-Day blocks or between a block of vacation days and an Off- Day block.
- This limits the number of consecutive calendar days between Off- Day blocks or between an Off-Day block and a block of vacation days to a maximum of 19 days. It is the obligation of the company that this is observed and a pilot is entitled that his roster is changed accordingly, if more than 19 calendar days are scheduled.
- Maximum twice per calendar year, up to 2 days of the “A” Days can be scheduled to overlap into the next roster period, unless requested by the pilot.
- It is possible to request via the PBS:
- to have the off-day blocks planned either separately or together,
- to have a block of “B” Days planned in a specific roster period,
- to have a block of off-days starting on a specific date,
- a block of off-days to encompass specific date.
Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.
Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. If a pilot notices a non-compliance with the CWA it is his/her right that the roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.
36.16.2.‘A’ Days and ‘B’ Days
- Notwithstanding a Delayed Arrival at Home Base on the first ‘A’ Day or ‘B’ Day of an Off-Day block, once a block of ‘A’ Days or ‘B’ Days has been published, they cannot be altered without the consent of the Pilot concerned.
- If a Pilot’s Ground Duty is not completed by 22:00 local time before the first ‘A’ Day or ‘B’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 to 3 listed below. If the Pilot’s Duty Period ends – whether operating or Positioning – 00:01 local time or later on the first ‘A’ Day or ‘B’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 to 3 listed below:
- Move the ‘A’ Days or ‘B’ Day as a block to accommodate the late arrival at Home Base, or
- the block of ‘A’ Days or ‘B’ Days may be shortened to accommodate the late arrival at Home Base by receiving compensation at the rate of 2 Off-Days for every ‘A’ Day or ‘B’ Day within the next unpublished Roster Period, attached to the ‘A’ Days block for that Roster Period, or
- the block of ‘A’ Days or ‘B’ Days may be shortened to accommodate the late arrival at Home Base receiving compensation by the payment of Off-Day overtime according to the following formula: (basic salary divided by 173) plus 50% supplement with not less than 8 hours counted per missing Off-Day. In this case, Duty hours worked in ‘A’ Days or ‘B’ Days are not added to the total Roster Period credit hours.
Delayed Arrival at Home Base is defined in CWA Part III as:
“An arrival at Home Base is considered to be delayed if the change which creates a delay occurred after the ‘Schedule Information’ email as per Article 36.11 has been sent related to the Duty Period which ends at Home Base and the Pilot’s Duty Period ends between 00:01 and 05:59 local time on the first Off-Day of a block of Off-Days.”
Below you will find some comments and explanations regarding Art. 36.16.2.
- Once “A” or “B” Days have been published these days cannot be altered without the consent of the Pilot. “Published” in this respect is referring to the initial roster publication by the crew scheduling departement at least 14 days before this roster period commences, as defined in CWA 36.18.
- As per per the first paragraph of Article 36.16.2.b) an “A” or “B” Day may be planned to start on the day after a ground duty, such as simulator or ground school, if this ground duty is scheduled to finish not later than 22.00 local time. If this ground duty finishes after 22.00 local time, the pilot is entitled to select compensation as described below.
- The second paragraph of Article 36.16.2.b) mentions the possibility of a late arrival at Home Base on the first “A” or “B” Day by stating “If the Pilot’s Duty Period ends – whether operating or Positioning – 00:01 local time or later on the first ‘A’ Day or ‘B’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 to 3 listed below:”
- Important:
According to the third paragraph in CWA 36.16.2.b), the pilot is not entitled to any compensation in the event of a “Delayed Arrival at Home Base” with his/her duty period ending between 00:01 and 05:59 local time on the first Off-Day (as per definition in CWA Part III).
In other words:
Although a block of “A” Days consists of 7 days and a block of “B” Days of 5 days, the respective first day of these blocks represents a special case. In general, these days cannot be changed, except in case of a “Delayed Arrival at Home Base” as mentioned above or if it is impossible for the company to (re)schedule a pilot to be back at Home Base before the first “A” or “B” Day commences.
- A roster change up to and including the “Schedule Information” email, related to the Duty Period that ends at Home Base, is considered to be a “reschedule”. Any late arrival at Home Base (duty period ends at 00:01 local time or later on the first “A” or “B” Day) resulting out of such a “reschedule” entitles the pilot to select compensation as per CWA 36.16.2.b).
- Any change resulting in a late arrival time at Home Base after the “Schedule Information” email was sent and the duty period ends between 00:01 local time and 05:59 local time is considered to be a “Delayed Arrival at Home Base”, in which case the pilot is not entitled to receive compensation. However, if the duty period ends at 06:00 local time or later he/she is entitled to receive full compensation as per CWA 36.16.2.b)
- A pilot does not have to accept any duty extended beyond the first “A” or “B” Day. A pilot may insist that his roster is changed and that he is free of all duties at Home Base latest at 23:59 local time on the first “A” or “B” Day. It is the obligation of the company to amend a pilot’s roster accordingly, which may include positioning the pilot home. If for some reason a return beyond the first “A” or “B” Day is unavoidable, the pilot concerned is entitled to select compensation as per Art. 36.16.2 b).
Please refer to CWA 36.5 Specification of Reporting Time and end of Duty Time for the correct calculation of duty times.
It is only the pilot who decides how he wants to be compensated. The pilot may select one of the following options:
- Move “A” and “B” Days as a block.
- Receive 2 Off-Days for every “A” or “B” Day to be scheduled within the next unpublished roster period, attached to the “A” Day block for that roster period keeping the same value, meaning that they cannot be moved without the consent of the pilot.
- Payment of Off-Day overtime as defined in Art. 36.16.2 b) 3)
Example A:
Below is the roster of a pilot, showing that he was planned to return for his “A” Days on 17 March:
The flight back from ORD was then rescheduled and he now arrives back on 18 March, which is the first “A” Day. His duty ends at 00.35h local time.
The pilot can now choose the compensation:
If he decides that the entire Off Day block would be moved as per Art. 36.16.2. b) 1), his roster would look like this in AIMS eCrew:
If he elects to receive compensation of the missing “A” Day on 18 March by receiving 2 Off- Days as defined in Art. 36.16.2. b) 2); or payment as defined in Art. 36.16.2. b) 3), his roster would look like this in AIMS eCrew:
Example B:
Below is the roster of a pilot, showing that he was planned to return for his “A” Days on 17 March:
The return flight to LUX is scheduled to land at 22.45h local time. The “Schedule Information” email that is sent as per Art. 36.11. informs the pilot of the scheduled reporting time and confirms an “on time” arrival in LUX.
As per Art. 36.11, the pilot receives a “1st Delayed Reporting Message” email, indicating a delay of 1 ½ hours and a new arrival time in LUX of 00.15h local time. This qualifies as “Delayed Arrival at Home Base” as per the definition in CWA Part III.
The duty ends 30 minutes after Block On at 00.45h local time, but the pilot is not entitled to compensation as per Art. 37.16.2. b), because of the “Delayed Arrival at Home Base”.
Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.
Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. If a pilot notices a non-compliance with the CWA it is his/her right that the roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.
36.16.3.‘C’ Days
- Once a block of ‘C’ Days has been published, it can only be changed as follows:
It can be moved as a block by not more than 5 consecutive days from the scheduled dates when the Initial Roster was published provided that the Pilot receives a minimum 24 hours’ notice of the planned change before the first ‘C’ Day of an Off-Day block commences. - If a Pilot’s Ground Duty is not completed by 22:00 local time before the first ‘C’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 or 2 listed below. If the Pilot’s Duty Period ends – whether operating or Positioning – 00:01 local time or later on the first ‘C’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 or 2 listed below:
- Move the ‘C’ Days as a block to accommodate the late arrival at Home Base, or
- the block of ‘C’ Days may be shortened to accommodate the late arrival at Home Base by receiving compensation at the rate of 1 Off-Day for every ‘C’ Day within the next unpublished Roster Period, attached to the ‘A’ Days block for that Roster Period, carrying the same value as a ‘A’ Day. In case the entire block of ‘C’ Days will be moved into the next unpublished Roster Period the Pilot is credited in addition with 8 Duty Hours, not counting to the maximum Duty Hours’ limitation.
Initial Roster is defined in CWA Part III as:
“The Roster as initially published by Crew Planning at least 14 days prior to the first day of a Roster Period in accordance with Article 36.2 of this CWA.”
Delayed Arrival at Home Base is defined in CWA Part III as:
“An arrival at Home Base is considered to be delayed if the change which creates a delay occurred after the ‘Schedule Information’ email as per Article 36.11 has been sent related to the Duty Period which ends at Home Base and the Pilot’s Duty Period ends between 00:01 and 05:59 local time on the first Off-Day of a block of Off-Days.”
Below you will find some comments and explanations regarding Art. 36.16.3
- Art. 36.16.3. a) permits the company to change „C“ Days any time after they have been published. Changes are permitted observing the following limitations:
- „C“ Days can be only moved as a block and by not more than 5 consecutive days from the scheduled dates of the Initial Roster as per definition above.
- It is not possible to move individual „C“ Days away from this block.
- A 24 hours notice must be given before the first „C“ Days commences.
- As per Article 36.16.3.b) a “C-Day” may be planned to start on the day after a ground duty, such as simulator or ground school, if this ground duty is scheduled to finish no later than 22.00 local time. If this ground duty finishes after 22.00 local time, the pilot is entitled to select compensation as described below.
- Article 36.16.3.b) also mentions the possibility of a late arrival at Home Base on the first “C-Day”. Paragraph b) of this article states “If the Pilot’s Duty Period ends – whether operating or Positioning – 00:01 local time or later on the first ‘C’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 to 2 listed below:”
Important:
According to CWA 36.16.3., the pilot is not entitled to receive any compensation in the event of a “Delayed Arrival at Home Base” as per definition above.
In other words:
- A roster change up to and including the “Schedule Information” email, related to the Duty Period that ends at Home Base, is considered to be a “reschedule”. Any late arrival at Home Base (duty period ends at 00:01 local time or later on the first “C” Day) resulting out of such a “reschedule” entitles the pilot to select compensation as per CWA 36.16.3.b).
- Any change resulting in a late arrival time at Home Base after the “Schedule Information” email was sent and the duty period ends between 00:01 local time and 05:59 local time is considered to be a “Delayed Arrival at Home Base”, in which case the pilot is not entitled to receive compensation. However, if the duty period ends at 06:00 local time or later he/she is entitled to receive full compensation as per CWA 36.16.3.b).
- In case of a return into one or more “C” Days, the pilot concerned is entitled to select compensation as per Art. 36.16.3 b).
Please refer to CWA 36.5 Specification of Reporting Time and end of Duty Time for the correct calculation of duty times.
It is only the pilot who decides how he wants to be compensated. The pilot may select one of the following options:
- Move „C“ Days as a block.
- Receive 1 Off-Day for every “C-Day” to be scheduled within the next unpublished roster period, attached to the “A-Day” block for that roster period. These “owed „C“ Days will then have the same value as “A” Days, meaning that all rules stipulated in CWA Art. 36.16.2. for “A-Days” are applicable.If the entire block of „C“ Days is moved into the next unpublished roster period, the pilot shall receive additionally 8 Duty Hours in the roster period the „C“ Days were moved from.
According to Articles 36.16.2.b) and 36.16.3 b) an “A”, “B” or “C-Day” may be planned to start on the day after a ground duty, such as simulator or ground school, if this ground duty is scheduled to finish no later than 22.00 local time.
36.16. 2. ‘A’ Days and ‘B’ Days
- If a Pilot’s Ground Duty is not completed by 22:00 local time before the first ‘A’ Day or ‘B’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 to 3 listed below.
36.16.3 ‘C’ Days
- If a Pilot’s Ground Duty is not completed by 22:00 local time before the first ‘C’ Day of an Off-Day block, the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the alternatives 1 or 2 listed below.
If this ground duty finishes after 22.00 local time, the pilot is entitled to select compensation as described in the respective articles for the ‘A’ and ‘B’ Days or the ‘C’ Days above.
Crew Positioning Travel
Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.
Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. If a pilot notices a non-compliance with the CWA it is his/her right that the roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.
37.3 Crew Positioning Travel
37.3.1 All Crew Positioning flights will be booked ’Business Class’ or better unless agreed differently between the Company and the Pilot Representatives for specific routes, or unless ‘Business Class’ is not provided on a specific route. ‘Economy Class’ will be used on Luxair intra-European point-to-point flights. Other than USA ‘First Class’ domestic flights all other ‘First Class’ bookings will require approval by the Chief Pilot’s Office.
All positioning flights on other airlines, except those operated by Luxair, shall be booked in “Business Class or better”. This means that it is the obligation of the company to provide “Business Class“ tickets if you are required to travel on behest of the company.
The article allows only for the following two exceptions:
- “Unless agreed differently between the Company and the Pilot Representatives for specific routes.”
- “…or unless ‘Business Class’ is not provided on a specific route.”
Presently the Pilot Representatives accept that only on routes operated by Luxair under LG flight numbers between Luxembourg (LUX) and any airport served by Luxair directly and vice versa that crew positioning travel may be booked in Economy Class. On all other routes it is the obligation of the company to book all positioning travel in “Business Class“.
Art. 5.3 of the CWA defines the Pilot Representatives. These comprise your ALPL Cargolux Divisional Board, whose members mostly also are Delegates in the Cargolux Delegation.
As long as one airline provides “Business Class“ on a route a pilot should position on, the pilot is entitled to position in “Business Class or better“. The pilot can refuse to fly in economy class if all business class seats are sold out on that specific day.
Tip: In this regard it is always a good idea to also check the flights on the internet and where applicable take a screen shot and advise Crew Control of the “Business Class” seats available.
Example: A pilot is scheduled to position from A to B. This route is served by several airlines, of which at least one offers “Business Class“. Crew Control informs the pilot that all business class seats are sold out that day, in which case the pilot can refuse to fly in Economy and Crew Control will have to find a different solution.
Rest at Home Base
“Rest with suitable accommodation provided by the company (B2B)” will be covered in a separate section.
36.10.1 Minimum rest period and reduced rest
The required Rest Period before undertaking a Flight Duty Period shall be in accordance with the Table 9 below.
Time zone differences are compensated by additional rest in the following cases:
- At Home Base, if a Rotation involves a 4 hour time difference or more.
- Away from Home Base, if a Flight Duty Period involves a 4-hour time difference or more.
Table 9: Rest
| Location | Minimum Rest | Reduced Rest (with FRM approval) |
| Home Base with no time zone difference compensation required | Equal to the duration of the previous Duty Period or 12 hours, whichever is greater | 12 hours |
| Home Base with time zone difference compensation | See Article 36.10.2 | Not allowed |
| Home Base with no time zone difference compensation required and Company provided Suitable Accommodation (Note 1) |
Equal to the duration of the previous Duty Period or 12 hours, whichever is greater | 12 hours |
| Home Base with time zone difference compensation and Company provided Suitable Accommodation (Note 1) | Only once between 2 Recurrent Extended Recovery Rest Periods: Equal to the duration of the previous Duty Period or 14 hours, whichever is greater. | Not allowed |
| Away from Home Base… | … | … |
| Away from Home Base… | … | … |
Note 1:
For Rotations which include …
…
…
…
Conditions for the use of reduced rest:
- The Rest Period following the reduced rest is extended by the difference between the minimum rest and the reduced rest.
- The maximum Flight Duty Period following the reduced rest is reduced by the difference between the minimum Rest Period and the reduced rest.
- There is a maximum of 2 reduced Rest Periods between 2 Recurrent Extended Recovery Rest Periods.
Rest Period is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Means a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a Pilot is free of all duties, standby and reserve.”
Duty is defined as “Means any task that a Pilot performs for the Company, including flight duty, administrative work (as indicated on the Pilot’s roster), giving or receiving training and checking, Positioning, Reserve and Standby.”
The Minimum Rest Period at Home Base after and before any Duty Period is
- As long as the previous Duty Period or 12 hours, whichever is longer
The following graph nicely illustrates the correlation between Duty Period and Minimum Rest Period at Home Base without time zone difference compensation.
Rest Period is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Means a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a Pilot is free of all duties, standby and reserve.”
Duty is defined as “Means any task that a Pilot performs for the Company, including flight duty, administrative work (as indicated on the Pilot’s roster), giving or receiving training and checking, Positioning, Reserve and Standby.”
Example (no time zone compensation):
A pilot is scheduled to operate the flight LUX-ZAZ-LUX. Total Duty Time is 6 hours. Since there is no time zone difference between LUX and ZAZ, no time zone difference compensation is required and the Minimum Rest Periodaccording to Table 9 in article 36.10.1 is 12 hours.
But what if the Rest Time at Home Base is scheduled to be shorter than stated in the CWA?
In this case it is the obligation of the company to change the roster accordingly to comply with the CWA.
Please note, the intention of the rest at Home Base is to have a pilot acclimatised at Home Base in order that he/she is rested for the next duty or series of duties.
If pilots feel that they are not acclimatised at the Home Base before the next duties then they should extend their rest time and complete a proactive fatigue report.
36.10.2 Rest at Home Base with time zone difference compensation
At Home Base, if a Rotation involves a 4 hour time difference or more, the Minimum Rest Period is as specified in the table below.
Table 10: Minimum Local Nights of rest at Home Base to compensate for time zone differences when Suitable Accommodation is not provided by Company.
| Maximum time difference between Home Base Time and local time where a Pilot rests during a Rotation(hours) | Time elapsed since reporting for the first FDP in a Rotation involving at least 4 – hour time difference to the Reference Time(hours:minutes) | |||
| < 48:00 | 48:00 – 71:59 | 72:00 – 95:59 | ≥ 96:00 | |
| ≤ 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| >6 and ≤9 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| >9 and ≤12 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
As soon as a rotation involves a 4 hour time difference or more and no suitable accommodation is provided by Cargolux when returning to Home Base, the Minimum Rest Period with time zone compensation according to 36.10.2 must be applied.
The table considers the following:
- the maximum time difference between the Home Base Time and the local time where a crew member rests during the rotation and
- the time elapsed since reporting for the first FDP involving at least 4 hours time difference to the reference time.
Rest Period is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Means a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, following duty or prior to duty, during which a Pilot is free of all duties, standby and reserve.”
Duty is defined as “Means any task that a Pilot performs for the Company, including flight duty, administrative work (as indicated on the Pilot’s roster), giving or receiving training and checking, Positioning, Reserve and Standby.”
Home Base Time is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Is the local time at Home Base when a Pilot returns from a Rotation.”
Reference Time is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Means the local time at the reporting point situated in a 2-hour wide time zone band (+/- 02:00 hours) around the local time where a Pilot is acclimatised.”
The Reference Time can be determined using Table 1 in CWA 36.6.2.1.
Example (with time zone compensation):
A pilot operates LUX (UTC+2) – GYD (UTC+4) on day 1. On the next day he operates GYD (UTC+4) – PVG (UTC+8), crossing for the first time 4 time zones. Reporting Time is 04:00 UTC. On day 3 he operates PVG – OVB (UTC+7), takes a Rest Period and continues back to LUX, where he arrives at 06:00 UTC on day 5. According to Table 10 in article 36.10.2 the biggest time difference between Home Base Time and the local time where the pilot rests during the rotation is 6 hours – the difference between PVG (UTC+8) and LUX (UTC+2). Time elapsed since reporting for the first FDP involving 4 hours time difference is 74:30 hours (GYD 04:00 UTC on day 2 until LUX 06:30 UTC on day 5). Thus, according to Table 10 in 36.10.2 the Minimum Rest Period for time zone difference compensation is 3 local nights.
But what if the Rest Time at Home Base is scheduled to be shorter than stated in the CWA?
In this case it is the obligation of the company to change the roster accordingly to comply with the CWA.
Please note, the intention of the rest at Home Base is to have a pilot acclimatised at Home Base in order that he/she is rested for the next duty or series of duties.
If pilots feel that they are not acclimatised at the Home Base before the next duties then they should extend their rest time and complete a proactive fatigue report.
36.10.3 Rest at home base on Eastward-Westward or Westward-Eastward transitions (EWWET)
In case of an Eastward-Westward or Westward-Eastward transition at Home Base, at least 3 Local Nights of rest at Home Base are provided between alternating Rotations.
This article states that when a pilot is transiting through Home Base from East to West or West to East, a minimum of 3 local nights of rest must be provided.
EWWET is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Eastward-Westward and Westward-Eastward transition means the transition at Home Base between a Rotation crossing 4 or more time zones in one direction and a Rotation crossing 4 or more time zones in the opposite direction”
Example (EWWET):
A pilot operates a rotation all the way to HKG and back to LUX. In this rotation, he crosses 6 time zones to the East [LUX (UTC+2)/HKG (UTC+8)]. Due to the nature of his trip he would only need a Minimum Rest Period for time zone compensation according to 36.10.2 of 2 local nights. However, his next Duty is a flight from LUX (UTC+2) to JFK (UTC-4). Because he already crossed more than 4 time zones on his last rotation and is scheduled to cross again 6 time zones to the West, the Minimum Rest Period is 3 local nights according to 36.10.3.
But what if the Rest Time at Home Base is scheduled to be shorter than stated in the CWA?
In this case it is the obligation of the company to change the roster accordingly to comply with the CWA.
Please note, the intention of the rest at Home Base is to have a pilot acclimatised at Home Base in order that he/she is rested for the next duty or series of duties.
If pilots feel that they are not acclimatised at the Home Base before the next duties then they should extend their rest time and complete a proactive fatigue report.
