We hope you had a pleasant summer and had the opportunity to enjoy some time with your loved ones, despite the demanding flight schedules and increased block hours driven by booming business, particularly in e-commerce.
Below you find an update on the following topics:
- Fuel situation in GYD
- Communication with Crew Control
- Rest area at the airport
- Caregiver Leave
- Fatigue Reports
- POD Donation
- PBS Working Group
Fuel Situation in GYD
During the Joint Delegation Meeting (JDM) on September 18th, 2024, Management told us that they were informed that, effective October 1st, 2024, fuel availability for Cargolux in GYD will be suspended until further notice. As a result, rotations through GYD were quickly rescheduled, and pilot rosters were adjusted prior to roster publication to reflect that change. This led to an increase in double-sector flights and network disruptions.
However, Management has since received confirmation that a limited number of flights will still be accepted in GYD, which will result in adjustments to pairings in the October rosters by Crew Control. Management has apologized for the inconvenience and asks for your understanding during this time.
Communication with Crew Control
As your Pilot Representatives, we’ve been informed of a few instances where the tone of communication between Crew Control and individual pilots was inappropriate. Given the numerous roster changes – sometimes beyond the scope of the CWA and/or poorly communicated – it’s understandable that frustrations may arise. However, we kindly ask everyone to maintain professionalism and communicate respectfully with our colleagues in Crew Control. The current crew shortage, combined with extra charter flights, also puts additional pressure on Crew Control to ensure flights are adequately staffed.
That said, pilots are fully entitled to insist that the CWA is upheld by Crew Control at all times, and we urge you to do so.
Rest Area at the Airport
In the latest JDM, we received an update on the request for a rest area at the airport. We are pleased to inform you that Management is in talks with LuxAirport, and there is a strong likelihood of obtaining additional rooms in the airport building once the current tenants vacate. While details are still being finalized, we are optimistic that an acceptable solution will be reached.
Caregiver Leave
CWA 12.2.1 outlines the entitlement to special leave for personal reasons, as provided by Article L.233-16 of the Labour Code. A recent change in the law has introduced an additional five days of special leave for caregivers, which has been incorporated into the CWA. This leave can be requested to take care of family members in cases of serious medical situations. Further information, including the procedure for applying for caregiver leave, can be found on the HR Intranet in the FAQs section and here.
Fatigue Reports
The latest Fatigue Survey results highlighted significant concerns, particularly with the over-reliance on the predictive bio-mathematical model and the reliability of methods used to assess and manage pilot fatigue risk. Our members are calling for a more balanced approach, including thorough investigations of fatigue reports.
In a recent meeting with the Aviation Safety Department and Flight Operations Management, we reiterated these concerns. We also acknowledged the fact of flight safety being a shared responsibility between the company and the pilots. Thus, we will refresh the knowledge of our colleagues on how to file fatigue reports and remind them to follow the OM-A and not to operate a flight if they know or suspect that they are suffering from fatigue. This was noted and accepted by all parties.
More information will be shared in future updates.
POD Donation
We concluded the donation for the Pilot Off Day Pool (POD) and are happy to announce that a total of 85 vacation days were collected into the POD. This enables us to use valuable resources where needed and we expect the number of donated days to be sufficient for about 18 months.
We would like to take the opportunity to say a big „Thank You!“ to all colleagues who have donated one or more of their valuable vacation days.
PBS Working Group
At the most recent PBS working group meeting, we were informed that the bidding success rate for the October roster has improved for Captains, thanks to an increase in full-time equivalents (FTE). However, the success rate for First Officers has decreased due to delays in training for newly hired pilots and additional upgrade courses scheduled on short notice. The surge in business demand has directly impacted crew availability.
We’ve communicated the need for more pilots to Management several times, and we are pleased to report that a revised crew hiring process, presented by Management to the Board of Directors (BoD), has been approved. The new process aims at proactively identifying the required number of pilots for a given calendar year based on various estimates and to start training sufficiently in advance to have the pilots ready when they are actually needed. The current recruitment lags approved budgeted FTEs, which has a negative impact on the operation. Also, all issued fixed term contracts will be converted into permanent contracts.
In terms of implementing additional bidding options and making the necessary technical adjustments to improve the PBS as outlined in CWA 36.20, everything remains on track for introduction no later than November 30th, 2024.
We believe that these developments will mitigate some of the most pressing challenges that we as crews have been confronted with for an extended period of time. However, we do realize that the success of these changes is partly depending on the ability of the company to recruit enough pilots.
In any case we appreciate the change from a reactive to a proactive approach. We would like to ask you to give those changes the required time to show the desired effects while we continue to work on improving the bidding success rate of the PBS.
