Cargolux

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

• A Farewell to Captain Einar Kristjansson
• Pilot Off Day Pool (POD)
• PBS Working Group

A Farewell to Captain Einar Kristjansson

On 9^th May 2026, Captain Einar Kristjansson performed his final landing on a Cargolux B747, marking the conclusion of a long and distinguished career. Einar joined the company in 1994 and became a member of ALPL shortly thereafter in 1995. Over the years, he was deeply committed to his colleagues, serving as President of the Cargolux Divisional Board from 2011 to 2015. Additionally, he was a member of the Cargolux Staff Delegation (2011–2016) and served on the Board of Directors (2012–2017).

To mark this special occasion, Michael and Johannes, on behalf of the entire Cargolux Divisional Board and the Executive Board, presented Einar with a certificate of appreciation. This token honors his dedicated leadership as President and his enduring support and commitment to the Association.

We wish Einar all the very best in his well-deserved retirement!

Pilot Off Day Pool (POD)

This is a friendly reminder to donate one or more of your vacation days to the POD if you haven’t done so yet. Despite Ingo’s call, donations are progressing very slowly. To ensure effective pilot representation both now and beyond the term of the current delegation, it is essential that representatives who lack official delegation office time (such as Markus, Max, Nikolai, Johannes, Bernhard, and others) are provided with enough PODs to attend meetings and seminars.

As mentioned in the recent podcast, other airlines have agreements where one vacation day per pilot is automatically deducted annually to secure these resources. To safeguard our representation in the future, this might also become a necessity for us at Cargolux. However, we would prefer to rely on collective solidarity. Furthermore, it is increasingly frustrating to see that a small group of the same colleagues regularly contributes disproportionately, while the vast majority is coattailing. If every pilot donated just one day, we would have enough resources to cover the next 7 to 10 years.

With an extra annual off day negotiated in 2020 and the addition of the guaranteed MAT compensation day, we believe donating just one day is a fair request to keep our representation strong. We kindly ask you to think about it and consider donating one or more of your VAC or outstanding VAC days.

[PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE]

Note: If a pop-up blocker prevents the link from opening, please click it a second time or right-click to open it in a new tab.

PBS Working Group

In late April another PBS Working Group meeting took place. Generally, the overall success rate for the months of March, April and May was lower than at the beginning of the year. This is mainly due to the change of the network and suspension of stops in the Middle East due to the war in the Middle East.

However, there is one important point worth mentioning that has a direct impact on the outcome of the bidding: The number of viable bids. The number of viable Off Time bids on the captain´s side dropped to 66% in April, compared to 88% in March and followed by 89% in May. The individual success rate for the ones who placed viable bids was therefore very high in April. But overall, 1/3 of the Off Time bids in April have not been processed by the system, because they were invalid!

For the First Officers, the number of viable bids is generally lower and hovering between 80% and 85%.

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:

New update for colleagues on part time: If you are using the “Floating Days Off“ bidding option, you must include your 5 B/C Days + XPA days in the date period. If the selected period is too short, the bid becomes invalid.

As a general reminder: When you use the “Floating Days Off” bidding option, you DO NOT REQUEST THE STARTING DATE of the Off Day Block, but the period, within which you want the Off Day Block to be allocated. If the Period is too short for the requested Off Day block, the bid is invalid and will not be considered. 

• Crew Rostering Tool and PBS
• Crew Room Upgrade
• Inflight & Outstation Medical Support
• Self-Service Vacation Requests
• SwissLife Supplementary Pension
• Part-Time Schemes
• Catering App
• Travel benefits and restrictions
• Future challenges
• Fatigue Risk Management
• Annual Financial Report
• Forecasted financial plan 
• Message from Einar Kristjansson and George Karambilas before their retirement

We would like to bring your attention to the evolving health situation regarding vector-borne diseases, specifically Dengue and Chikungunya, in regions close to or frequently served by our network. 

Recent reports for early 2026 show an increase in mosquito-borne infections. Brazil is currently seeing high Dengue activity, particularly in the Southeast and Southern regions. In  Southern China (Guangdong Province), an ongoing Chikungunya outbreak continues to affect Foshan, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. 

We have recently received feedback from a colleague who was infected with Chikungunya. To protect yourself, please ensure you: 

• Check Travel Requirements: Review destination-specific health advisories before operating into Brazil or China. 
• Practice Bite Prevention: Use DEET-based repellents, wear long sleeves during layovers, and stay in screened or air-conditioned environments. Note that these mosquitoes are most active during daylight hours. 

We are in active dialogue with the Chief Pilot’s Office (CPO) to ensure that general guidance and a list of recommended vaccinations are officially published in the SCL. We have also proposed that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) actively monitor global outbreak situations and issue “flash warnings” to crews when a situation develops at one of our destinations. 

Regarding Vaccinations  

For those looking into the Dengue vaccine, current guidance primarily prioritizes individuals who have had a prior Dengue infection or those with prolonged exposure to endemic areas. In any case, a consultation with your AME is advised to discuss your specific medical history and any required grounding periods. 

On a different topic, we are happy to announce the newly established ALPL App Development Committee, consisting of: 

Markus Buberl 
Fabian Koch 
Mathias Henrich 
Sebastian Klose 

Our colleagues have volunteered to support the launch and development of the long-awaited ALPL App. A big thank you to the team for their efforts, especially to Thomas Freymann (Luxair Division) and Artur Kurkowiak, who has been working on this for quite some time! 

We are aware that the current range of features is limited. However, the goal is to provide a growing suite of valuable tools within the app through continuous development. Artur and the entire committee are also working hard on an Android release to ensure all members have access soon.  

While additional features are already under development, we encourage you to send your suggestions or questions to our dedicated address: app@alpl.lu 

In the meantime, we hope you find the current features – such as offline access to our PBS tutorial videos, the “Know your CWA“ documents, and the new Podcast – useful and informative.  

Note: Feedback and topic requests for the podcast can be sent to podcast@alpl.lu. 

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

Fly safe and stay healthy! 

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!