Cargolux

Here is a quick update following the latest meeting of the PBS working group. We’ve been digging into the statistics for the January and February rosters, and there are some interesting trends to share.

The good news is that we are seeing a positive trend in the number of viable bids. While we still see non-viable bids popping up, the overall number is decreasing. This is a great indication that more of you are becoming familiar with the system’s limitations and avoiding those common “trap” mistakes.

In this context, we would like to remind you of our PBS Tutorial videos. Please take the time to watch them to familiarize yourself with the bidding system and how to make optimum use of it. These videos are available on our website and the new ALPL App, which allows you to access them easily and watch them offline.

📲 Download the ALPL App (iOS):https://alpl.lu/app

Statistics
Below are the numbers at a glance, based on viable bids:

We also saw a steady use of waivers across both months (roughly 60 Captains and 80 First Officers). Success rates for those using waivers hovered between 73% – 76% and 73% – 83% respectively.

According to Crew Planning, February is a tough month to produce rosters. The short 28-day period, combined with big blocks of off-days and XPA days, creates tighter constraints within the system, making it harder to find valid solutions. On top of that, Carnival leads to a high volume of requests for the same period, which impacts the success rate for bids.

To improve this moving forward, Crew Planning mentioned the possibility of creating shorter trips for February in the future. This would make it easier to allocate off-days and trips simultaneously, ultimately boosting the success rate.

Overlapping Trips
This remains an ongoing topic. While we work toward a long-term solution, Crew Planning and the CPO have suggested an interim fix: if you want to avoid or limit the number of days a trip overlaps into the next roster period, you can email Crew Planning directly to indicate your preference. It is important to note that due to the nature of our operations, overlapping trips will always exist to a certain extent and cannot be avoided altogether.

To prevent the department from being flooded with emails, we kindly ask that you keep these inquiries to a minimum and only reach out if it is truly necessary. This will help them manage the workload and focus on the most essential requests.

Therefore, while our colleagues in Crew Planning will do their best to accommodate these requests, please understand they cannot guarantee that every request can be granted.

We are pleased to announce the launch of two new initiatives today: our new communication channel, “ALPL Raw Data – The Cargolux Divisional Board Podcast”, and the release of the new ALPL App for iOS.

We are always looking for ways to improve how we communicate with you. While regular email updates are essential, they have their limits. This podcast gives us the possibility to dive deeper into complex topics, providing more context and better information than a standard text update allows.

This format creates a livelier conversation and allows us to interact around a wide range of topics. It is easy to follow during a commute, making it a convenient option for many members. At the same time, it offers a unique opportunity to get to know your representatives better and allows us to act with greater transparency.

What can you expect?

• Format: We aim to release episodes as frequently as possible, though on a flexible schedule. This podcast is designed to complement our existing email updates, not replace them.
• Deep Dives: We will explore specific subjects in detail that matter to our operations and our members.
• Authenticity: As the name suggests, this is about the content. Please note that audio quality may vary from episode to episode, as we won’t always be recording in a studio. Guests may join us remotely to ensure we get the right people talking about the right topics, regardless of location.

You can access the podcast via our website or conveniently on the go with our new app.

• 📲 Download the ALPL App (iOS): https://alpl.lu/app
• 🎧 Listen on the Website: https://alpl.lu/login

Important: To access the app, simply log in using the same credentials (username and password) as you use for the ALPL website. No new registration is required. 

Note for Android Users: An Android version of the App is in the making. In the meantime, you can fully access the podcast via our website. However, if you would prefer a different channel, please let us know.We want this to be a two-way conversation. We are confident that this step will significantly improve our communication, but we need your input. Please send your questions or suggest topics you would like us to cover to podcast@alpl.lu.

A small request: Please bear with us if the first episodes aren’t technically perfect yet. We are committed to informing you better and are learning as we go. We would also appreciate your honest feedback on whether you like this new format.
We hope you tune in!

As 2025 draws to a close, the entire ALPL Cargolux Divisional Board wishes you and your loved ones a joyful Holiday Season and a happy New Year!

We would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the past year. In February, the new PBS options were implemented, and it has been encouraging to see a steady improvement in individual success rates. We recognize that the introduction of the new PBS in 2022 had a significant impact on quality of life and off-time requests, creating a clear need for refinement. The system’s complexity, technical hurdles, and reliance on third-party providers have been challenging for everyone involved.

While not every off-time request can be fulfilled, the combination of tutorial videos, inflight briefings, and individual coaching has led to better results and a deeper understanding of PBS across the community. The system remains imperfect, but we are committed to making continued improvements through the PBS Working Group. Your feedback plays a vital role in identifying technical issues or patterns that hinder the pilot community, and we sincerely appreciate your contributions.

In May, elections for the Divisional Board took place. Following changes to the ALPL statutes in 2024, the Board has expanded from seven to eleven members. This expansion allows us to distribute the workload more evenly and improve succession planning. The term has also been extended to four years (2025–2029), aligning with the Cargolux Delegation’s term. A larger team naturally brings more perspectives and lively debate – but this diversity of experience and fresh ideas ultimately enhances pilot representation.

However, our work is only possible thanks to your ongoing support and engagement. You, the members, are the backbone of our efforts and it is encouraging to see stable membership levels, as we welcome new hires taking the place of those who have retired or left for personal reasons.

Finally, as in previous years, fatigue mitigation continues to be a priority at Cargolux. We will not stop highlighting this critical topic and progress requires collaboration between the company and the pilot group. Your reports are essential for identifying hotspots in our network and enable our representatives in the FSAG to tackle them effectively. Please support their efforts to ensure meaningful outcomes – they depend on a strong reporting culture.

Thank you for your unwavering support during another busy year. We hope you enjoy some well-deserved time with your loved ones during the festive season.
 
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

As part of our ongoing work within the Fatigue Safety Action Group (FSAG) and our commitment to promoting a strong safety culture, we would like to share a useful IFALPA document that provides clear guidance on how to complete effective fatigue reports:

IFALPA Fatigue Reporting Guidance

Fatigue reporting remains one of the most important tools for identifying operational risks and supporting long-term fatigue trend analysis. High-quality reports allow the FSAG and the company to better understand the factors influencing alertness and to implement appropriate mitigations where needed.

This document provides:

• Practical, neutral terminology for describing fatigue-related events,
• Clear examples of the information that helps safety teams analyse reports,
• Guidance on describing causal factors, sleep evaluation, and mitigations,
• A step-by-step overview of what constitutes an effective fatigue report.

We encourage all pilots to review and use this guidance as a helpful reference when submitting future fatigue reports. Consistent, factual, and well-structured reporting strengthens our safety system and benefits all of us.

Thank you for your continued professionalism and support! If you have any questions or would like further clarification, please feel free to reach out.

We would like to share some information regarding recent events on the above-mentioned topic and our role in it: 

Two of our pilot representatives (Oliver Eichorst and Nick Collett) recently joined the IFALPA Dangerous Goods (DG) Committee, attending its yearly committee meeting at BALPA HQ at Heathrow.  

The IFALPA DG Committee promotes the safe transport of DG by air and represents IFALPA at major international forums such as the October’s ICAO Assembly in Montreal.  

The meeting in London ran over three days, spanning a wide variety of topics, the most relevant to us at Cargolux being the issue of CAO freight: 

As we all know, passage aboard Cargolux aircraft carrying CAO DGR’s for leisure travel has been prohibited for some years due to restrictions imposed by ICAO Annex 18. Attempts by ALPL and Cargolux management to resolve this by means of DAC exemption have thus far been without success. 

According to ICAO Annex 18 Definition – a ‘passenger aircraft’ is an aircraft that carries any person other than: 

– A crew member, 

– An operator’s employee in an official capacity, 

– An authorized representative of an appropriate national authority, 

– A person accompanying a consignment or other cargo 

This constitutes the list of people who may be carried aboard a cargo aircraft, according to ICAO Annex 18. 

Few states honor this to the letter – most have added other categories of persons who can travel on cargo aircraft carrying CAO. For example – horse grooms returning without horses are not foreseen by the ICAO definition of a cargo aircraft. This provision is provided by a DAC exemption. 

IFALPA has, through the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel, been working for several years to resolve this, to permit additional people to travel on CAO-laden aircraft. Various workarounds have been looked at, but proposals thus far have had mixed reception at ICAO level.  

One early proposal was to change the definition of a cargo aircraft to broaden the scope of who could travel on board. This faced opposition as it was seen as attempting ‘regulation through definition’. 

The most recent proposal, tabled at the (ICAO Convention) in Montreal in October 2025, was to delete the definitions of passenger and cargo aircraft from Annex 18, and to add new wording that would permit additional persons on board a CAO flight when authorized by the operator and the State of the Operator. 

Unfortunately, this latest proposal was also rejected, due to opposition from several ICAO DG Panel members who fear unintended consequences of deletion of the definitions, and that a thorough impact assessment would need to be done.  

Despite this setback, IFALPA, through the ICAO DG panel, will continue work to resolve the issue. Confidence was expressed at the meeting in London that this would be eventually successful.  

The timing, however, is uncertain, especially due to the slow pace of proceedings at ICAO level. It is unlikely that Annex 18 changes which would lead to a relief in our situation would come into effect before 1st January 2029.  

Despite these setbacks, Oli and Nick reported that there was optimism that the ICAO text would eventually be changed for the better. They made valuable connections and were pleased to witness first hand that there is a dedicated, knowledgeable team working towards rectifying not only these issues, but a wide range of DG related safety topics. 

Also worth mentioning is the fact that Cargolux is by far not the only operator with a very restrictive aviation authority limiting our well-deserved staff travel benefits. The prominent examples where the authorities have currently allowed additional people on board are the exception. 

For us, these dragged developments mean that we are launching a prepared initiative to try to mitigate the restrictions internally by other means. 

We will keep you updated as soon as possible and hope to have contributed to a better understanding of the underlying restrictions. 

With this member update we would like provide you with information on the following topics:

• Roster Changes affecting Off Days and/or Vacation
• PBS Working Group
• MedAire Crew Support

Roster Changes affecting Off Days and/or Vacation

It has recently come to our attention that Crew Control has issued roster changes that resulted in crew members being scheduled to return during their A/B Days or Vacation. In these situations, the changes were presented to pilots as an “irreversible act” or a “new reality”, rather than first seeking and obtaining the colleague’s consent. We remind you that, under the CWA, such changes explicitly require the consent of the affected pilot. Implementing them without consent is not in compliance with the agreement and does not have to be accepted.

Every pilot has the contractual right to a CWA-compliant roster. This includes being returned to home base in time for vacation or A/B days, excluding „delayed arrival at home base“ as defined by the CWA.

We would like to stress that these rights apply equally to all colleagues, including those who are new to the company or still within their probation period. No pilot shall be compelled to accept a roster change that contravenes the CWA or that has not been properly discussed and agreed to.

We have raised this matter directly with CPO and we kindly ask you to notify us promptly if such a situation arises in your roster. Please provide details via email to cvboard@alpl.lu.

Your reports are an important contribution to ensure CWA compliance, particularly as we approach the busier season of the year.

PBS Working Group

In the most recent PBS Working Group meeting we have been provided with the statistics of the October roster.

It’s very encouraging to see that overall success for getting “at least one off-day bid” remains strong, well over 90%.

For the first time, we can also provide data on Priority 1 (P1) Off Time Bids:

• Captains: 85% of viable P1 Off Time Bids were granted.
• First Officers: 80% of viable P1 Off Time Bids were granted.

The difference in success rates between Captains and First Officers might be due to our newer colleagues who are still learning the complexities of the PBS system.

Despite these good numbers, we need to highlight a critical issue: 15% of all Off Time Bids were non-viable.

This means those bids had no chance of being granted. We strongly urge everyone to pay closer attention to how you place your Off Day Bids to maximize your success.

The most common reasons for a bid being marked as non-viable include:

• Incorrect Structure: Trying to bid for too many OFF days in a short period (e.g., requesting 7 off-days within a 3-day calendar window).
• Conflict with Pre-allocated Events: Requested OFF Days overlap with pre-allocated Training or Vacation without the necessary waiver being selected.
• Conflict with Assignments: Requested OFF Days overlap with an already pre-assigned trip.

Please also consider that V Days count as your A Days. Therefore, if you have four or more V Days allocated in a roster period, you should not bid for any additional A Days.

Furthermore, the scheduling software currently only approves requests for overlapping Off Days of more than two days into the next roster, if these days close a gap to e.g. already allocated vacation days.

We encourage you to explore the PBS system in detail to take full advantage of its capabilities. To assist you in doing so, a series of tutorial videos is available in the dedicated PBS section of the ALPL website.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for guidance! If you have any questions or would like advice on how to best place a bid, contact us directly at cvboard@alpl.lu.

MedAire Crew Support

We’re glad to hear that the MedAire Crew Support is working well and that the feedback has been excellent!

As a reminder: If you use MedAire Crew Support and are unable to perform your next duty, you must still inform Crew Control as soon as possible. MedAire does not pass this information on to the company.

Also, please note that the Station Information in the Content Locker may contain outdated contact details for medical assistance while on a trip.

Always use the dedicated telephone number printed on the back of your Cargolux badge for MedAire contact. This number was also highlighted in the CPO update on 22.08.2025.

For more details, please check the Content Locker under 15. Health and Safety Information – MedAire Crew Support.

In a second step, MedAire Crew Support will be made available inflight to provide assistance for medical emergencies during a flight. The CPO will communicate full details to all pilots once this important enhancement is established.

As the summer season concludes, we hope you had the opportunity to enjoy quality time and a well-deserved vacation with your loved ones. This member update is designed to provide you with important information on two areas: 

• PBS
• Possible Ramifications of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) incident 

PBS
We continued to meet with the PBS Working Group and it’s promising to see that the success rate for “at least one off-day bid” granted has stabilized well over 90% for Captains and First Officers. The statistics only considers viable bids and given the fact that still 10% off all recorded bids are non-viable, the perception on the line with some colleagues might be different.

Having said this, we recommend getting in touch with us if you are unsure about how to place a specific bid or simply would like to understand why your bid wasn’t granted. Over the last few months, together with crew planning we were able to improve the bidding success for some colleague who approached us or even identified minor technical issues within the software that will be corrected. Without their feedback we would not have been able to do so.

Thus, if you have questions concerning the PBS don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via cvboard@alpl.lu. 

Possible Ramifications of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) incident
A warm summer evening, nice company, good music and a few drinks can be the recipe for trouble if you decide to drive home with your own car.

Regardless of whether it occurs during private time, such an event poses significant and complex challenges for a pilot holding an EASA license. It is not an isolated legal matter but a fundamental issue that touches upon a pilot’s integrity, professional judgment, and aeromedical fitness.   

The incident can trigger mandatory reporting obligations to the pilot’s licensing authority and lead to a re-assessment of their medical certificate. The aeromedical assessment is a central part of this challenge, as a DUI is treated as a potential symptom of an underlying medical condition. It can trigger a detailed review of a pilot’s overall fitness to fly by an Aero-Medical Examiner (AME).

Beyond the medical certificate, a DUI conviction can have immediate and severe professional consequences by impacting a pilot’s ability to hold an airport ID card. Many aviation security programs include a list of “disqualifying convictions” that can prevent an individual from passing a mandatory background check and gaining the necessary airside access required to perform their duties. These convictions are selected based on criteria that include integrity, trustworthiness, and susceptibility to coercion. This means a pilot could technically hold a valid EASA medical certificate and a pilot license but be rendered professionally unemployable if they are unable to obtain or maintain their airport ID card.

The risk isn’t worth it – always take a taxi!