Cargolux Board

Recently the company has announced in a Chief Pilot Office update as well as in a Flight Crew Advisory the reintroduction of layovers in CGO, where in-room confinement will be mandated.
 
In recent weeks and months, we have received many complaints regarding the OVB-CGO-ANC flights, where crews felt that they were pushed into commander’s discretion due to the long turnaround times in CGO and unrealistically planned flight times, as well as the OVB-CGO-OVB shuttles. These problems should disappear with the introduction of layovers in CGO.
 
In a meeting with Pilot Representatives, it was mentioned by the CEO, that the company only considered introducing layovers in CGO, after the problems related to the unpredictable turnaround times in PVG and CGO became apparent, which may be further aggravated by the upcoming winter operations.
 
At the same time, we acknowledge that the return flight from the PVG shuttles will now be scheduled to KUL, eliminating some layovers in BKK.
 
According to Luxemburgish law, it is the obligation of an employer to guarantee the health and safety of all employees, and it is fact that excessive time spent in in-room confinement poses a risk to a pilot’s physical and mental health.
 
We sent a separate letter to the CEO to address these issues, mentioning among other things that we expect management to keep up to its commitment to plan layovers in CGO for not longer than 28 hours. We also expect that the company continues to work together with the Chinese authorities to organize the previously mentioned blocked floors as well as a gym usable for crews. You can read this letter here.
 
As the currently planned hotel for the layovers in CGO is not the same, which we used before the pandemic, it goes without saying that the quality of rest in the new hotel must be such that the crews are able to recover well enough from the previous duty in order to be sufficiently rested before the next FDP. Should this not be the case, please file a Voyage Report or even an ASR and send a copy to cvhotels@alpl.lu.
 
In the aforementioned letter we clearly expressed that we expect management to review the CGO layovers together with Pilot Representatives after a trial period of 4 weeks and to discuss actual layover times, the quality of the hotel as well as other possible problems regarding layovers in CGO.

Faced with fierce in-room confinement in Bangkok for such a long time, we all are craving for more freedom and normality while on a layover there. In recent months rumours of other airline crews being exempted from the restrictions in Bangkok arose regularly and led to a certain frustration amongst all Cargolux pilots, simply because everyone felt left alone in our Bangkok dilemma.
 
Your ALPL Board regularly investigated these rumours only to find out that official information from the Thai authorities concerning crews is rare, sometimes contradicting and incomplete. It appears, that in room confinement still is mandatory, even for vaccinated crews. Please click here to read the latest letter that was sent to management concerning the layover situation in Bangkok.
 
In our recent vaccination survey, we tried to get a better picture of the vaccination status of our colleagues. According to the feedback we received, roughly 91% of the pilots indicate to be vaccinated. This knowledge will allow us to make informed decisions in the event of any future operational changes in connection with the COVID-19 vaccination rate.
 
In this context, some colleagues have raised their concerns that the company would only send vaccinated pilots to destinations like Bangkok with in-room confinement, whilst unvaccinated colleagues would be able to enjoy trips with less restrictions or no restrictions at all. 
 
To make it clear, it is the firm position of your ALPL Board that this would not be acceptable and could lead to serious conflicts amongst the pilots. Management informed us that this is not intended.
 
Finally, we would like to point out once again that a even higher vaccination rate amongst the pilots could support our case and accelerate the process to have those restrictions we currently see in Bangkok and other places being lifted. 

Please find below an update concerning:

• Crew rest onboard an aircraft during COVID-19
• Index Increase as of 01 October 2021
• Letter regarding repeated failure of cybersecurity testing

Crew rest onboard an aircraft during COVID-19
Article 71 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 allows air carriers to request derogations from their competent authority during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to updates from the Chief Pilots Office, Cargolux has received authorisation to derogate from ORO.FTL.235 (b) and to use inflight rest facilities onboard, provided certain conditions are fulfilled. 

With the latest changes in China and the long turnaround times due to the local COVID restrictions, the risk to run out of duty time and being forced to use the onboard rest facilities is significantly increased. Some colleagues also doubted that this derogation can be applied in case of unforeseen loading delays. 

In a FSAG meeting in mid-September 2021, the existence and validity of such derogation was verbally confirmed by one of the inspectors of the DAC. Subsequently, the Delegation decided to send a letter to the EVP Flight Operations with the request to make the authorisation and derogation request more transparent. Please click on below links to read the respective letters.

Letter from the Delegation
Reply letter from the EVP Flight Operations
Letter from the Delegation with the request to amend the OM-A accordingly

We would like to underscore the importance to file a VR any time the use of Commander´s Discretion was necessary to complete a FDP. This is mandatory as per OM-A, Chapter 7, Section 8. In this context it is also important to know that in OM-A, Chapter 7, Section 10, performance indicators are defined to monitor the robustness of rostered pairings and rosters. E.g. it is mentioned that in case the actual FDP in operation exceeds the maximum FDP on more than 33% of the flights during a scheduled season, Cargolux must change the schedule and/or the crewing arrangements.

Index Increase as of 01 October 2021
According to the provisional result published by STATEC, the annual inflation rate of the national consumer price index (CPI) amounts to 2.7% for the month of September. With this result, the half-yearly average of the index linked to the 1.1.1948 base for the month of September exceeds the threshold of 895.78 points, thus triggering a new indexation.

The new index of 855.62 (old index: 834.76) came into force on 01 October 2021, resulting in a salary increase of 2.5%.  

Letter regarding repeated failure of cybersecurity testing
Recently, some employees have received a letter from HR due to repeated failure of responding correctly to cybersecurity testing. The letter also included a threat of disciplinary consequences should this happen again.

Those tests are done by the IT Department and consist of false phishing emails, which must be treated by the employee accordingly.

As all employees, not only pilots, are affected by these tests, the issue will be handled by the Delegation. We already requested a legal opinion if it is permissible under Luxembourg’s labor law for an employer to set up such a test or trap for the employees.

Generally, we disapprove procedures of artificial traps that are being applied. In the meantime, we recommend to remove the Cargolux email account from all private devices and not to use any private device to access Cargolux related websites. We also recommend using the company provided iPad only for any duty related tasks and to only switch it on when required, e.g. before starting a Duty Period. Please click here to read the iPad policy for more information.

We also recommend to forward any email you think could be a spam or phishing attempt to cybersec@cargolux.com for verification.

Vacation together with our off-days have a high priority especially for us as pilots and are an important building block for a healthy work-life balance. With a stronger focus of the company on more efficient planning and the endeavour to achieve a higher level of automation in the planning process, we already noticed last year problems with the allocation of vacation days.

To better evaluate the success rate of the vacation allocation for 2022 we need your support!

With a survey after each bidding round (first, second and VOFF) we plan to collect important information to improve the allocation process in the future. What is particularly important in this context is whether the bids were placed as “fixed” or “flexible” dates to evaluate the intention behind them and the results.

Therefore, we would like to ask for your individual vacation bidding and allocation results and to answer a few questions. This survey is now the first of three surveys, which covers the recent publication of the vacation days of the first bidding round.

Please note, this survey will be held in strict confidentiality – only the overall results will be communicated.

To view the contained table in full size, we recommend filling out the survey on a computer, notebook or tablet. 

The survey closes on 17 October 2021.

Your ALPL Vacation Committee

Thank you very much for participating in the vote in which 88,3 % of our members stated their individual preference.
 
The vote consisted of the following question:
 
Do you accept the proposal for a deviation for scheduled operations and agree to operate with a crew compliment of 1 Captain and 3 First Officers under the presented conditions? 
 
YES: 31,7%                 (BC: 32,1%; FO: 31,4%)
 
NO: 68,3%                  (BC: 67,9%; FO: 68,6%)
  
With 68,3% voting “NO”, the deviation request has been rejected by our members. The Pilot Representatives will not agree to the proposed deviation as requested by management. This  has been communicated to senior management.

Recently we have been approached by Flight Operations Management with the request to apply CWA article 36.6.4.3.1 “Deviations for scheduled Operations” on certain flights and to schedule these flights with 1 Captain and 3 First Officers instead of 2 Captains and 2 First Officers.

The reasons brought forward for this request are the present and increasing constraints that are put on Cargolux´ operations due to COVID restrictions, especially in China where ground times have been significantly increased and due to many no crew layover stations. This resulted in numerous flights being operated with an augmented or even double crew, requiring a lot of manpower. Due to the current rotation pattern to accommodate serving destinations in China, Cargolux finds itself in a position of being short of Captains in order to maintain its schedule.

In subsequent meetings with the CEO, we explained Management the current difficulties for Cargolux pilots and that the ongoing restrictive conditions have led to a high level of frustration.

Ultimately and after careful consideration of all principles, the following was agreed upon, subject to ratification by our members. 

• Only the BKK-PVG-BKK flights would be affected.
• For every BKK-PVG-BKK shuttle, a premium of 1000€ will be paid to the operating Captain and 650€ to every operating First Officer. This premium is a gross amount and subject to taxes and social security contributions.
• This agreement will be of temporary nature and expires on 31 March 2022, at which point it will be reviewed by both parties. If the company wishes to stop the application of CWA Art. 36.6.4.3.1 and operate these flights again as per CWA Art. 36.6.4.2. at an earlier stage, this agreement can be terminated in writing by sending a letter to the Pilot Representatives.
• Estimated bio-mathematical fatigue values for the complete rotation the Flight Duty Period belongs to have to be within limits.

Please note:
Your vote will be held in strict confidentiality – only the global results will be relayed to Cargolux Management. A simple majority vote will determine an acceptance or rejection of the proposal.

To cast your vote you must follow the link provided in an email sent to your email account registered with the ALPL Office! Should you not have received this email, kindly contact the ALPL Office at office@alpl.lu.u.

The voting deadline is 22:00 UTC on Sunday, 26 September 2021!

Please note that vacation bidding for the 1st Step for the 2022 calendar year closes on Sunday, 19 September 2021.

You can also download the ALPL  Vacation Calendar 2022 and Vacation Calendar 2023 from the ALPL website for your perusal.

For questions regarding the vacation don’t hesitate to send an email to cvboard@alpl.lu.

Some of our members informed us that they have been approached and asked by crew control to deviate from the CWA requirement of a Double Crew (2 Captains and 2 First Officers) and to accept a crew composition of 1 Captain and 3 First Officers on various flights instead. In all known cases, our members insisted that the CWA is followed.
 
We kindly ask you to get in touch with us should you experience the same so that we can verify whether these have been isolated cases or if this is a systematic approach by the company. 
 
Please remember that the last CWA negotiations were very intense and all of us should not deviate from these achievements light-heartedly.   

Please find below an update regarding:

• Salary increase in August 2021
• Reply letters from Management
• PVG Rotations
• Vacation Bidding 2022

Salary increase in August 2021
We would like to inform you that as per the CWA 2020-2022 Art. 38.1., the salaries for all pilots will be increased by 2% as of 1 August 2021. The new salary should be displayed on your monthly pay slip for August 2021 and can be crosschecked with the tables in the CWA.  

Reply letters from Management
A few months ago, we sent some letters to Management concerning certain developments that have been observed by our members and were mentioned in our June 2021 Members Update. We have recently received two reply letters concerning the following:

• Recurrent Extended Rest Recovery Period (RERRP) in BKK
  Some members informed us, that their RERRP was scheduled in BKK, a destination with in-room confinement requirement. It is our position that RERRPs at destinations with in-room confinement are not suitable to recover from a series of duties. Please click on below links to read again the letter that was sent from our side and the reply from Management. In the reply letter numerous attempts of crew control to schedule crews for a RERRP in BKK were not acknowledged. Some were successfully avoided due to the individual crew members intervention, therefore we encourage you to challenge the allocation of RERRP in BKK particularly in regards to the below written subject and letter about the PVG rotations.
  Letter sent to management
  Reply letter concerning RERRP in BKK

• Triplist in PBS
  For obvious reasons the triplist in PBS was removed last year when the COVID pandemic started and the option to bid for trips was suspended. In the meantime, however, the network seems to be more stable, and we see an increased number of repetitive trips. Therefore, a letter to the VP Flight Operations was sent by the Delegation with the request to reintroduce the option to bid for trips in the PBS. Please click on below links to read again the letter that was sent from our side and the reply from Management.
  Letter sent to management
  Reply letter concerning triplist in PBS

PVG Rotations
After the announcement by CPO that the PVG flights will be conducted via BKK, the Pilot Representatives met with ExCom and CPO in order to discuss the current situation.

The CEO informed us, that due to the current Covid procedures in China, a lot of manpower is lost at the airports, so that the ground times increase considerably due to the fact there is much more time required to on- and off-load the aircraft. In fact, ground times of 11 hours and more have been observed recently and it was stated that currently it is impossible to predict turnaround times at PVG.

As PVG is affected the most by the Covid restrictions in China, it was decided by management to fly to PVG from BKK as announced by the CPO in order to be able to finish the FDPs within the limits. Unfortunately, all other airports outside China and relatively in the vicinity of PVG have either no capacity to deal with extra Cargolux flights, are too far away to stay within the max FDP due to extended ground time in PVG or have too stringent layover restrictions. Some rotations into PVG have been cancelled altogether so that  Cargolux is able to continue operations efficiently into PVG.

We communicated our concerns regarding additional layovers in in-room confinement and sent a letter to CPO, where we stipulated strict, transparent scheduling rules regarding the layovers in BKK and the shuttle flights. You can read the letter here.

It was reiterated by management that it is not the intention of the company to have such rotations appear in our operation. Unfortunately, such restrictions are completely outside the control of Cargolux.

Vacation bidding 2022
On 19th August 2021, the two-step vacation bidding process for the year 2022 has started.

To optimize the result of the vacation bidding we would like to remind you of a few points which are important in this context. 

• Vacation planning is an automatic process, and the result is heavily influenced by the input of the individual pilot.
• Especially during popular holiday periods, the rush after limited vacation slots is the greatest, which may affect even pilots with a relatively high seniority.

To increase your individual success rate, we recommend considering the following when placing your bids. 

• Be aware of your relative seniority and request your vacation days accordingly.
• Rather than only requesting the minimum number of blocks for vacation, also place alternative bids. 
• Rather than requesting a vacation block to start on a specific day, indicate a time window when the vacation should start. The system then can shift and trim your request to fit it in the available slots in that period.
• When placing your bids for vacation, do not count on getting your A or B Days allocated attached to a block of vacation days during the year when doing the regular monthly preferential bidding. There is no privilege and guarantee to get this request awarded just because of your vacation days. If there are no slots for off days available in respect to your seniority, the risk is high that you will not get them. It could even happen that a short block of vacation days could be used to cover rest requirements.

As many of you have noticed, the success rate for the bidding via the Preferential Bidding System (PBS) has gone down and quite often the rosters hardly reflect the bidding requests at the moment. 
 
The main reason for this is that the process to produce the monthly rosters has changed and that the Company uses a different rostering software, which sets different priorities in regard to the planning of trips, off days, training, etc. to make the planning of crews more efficient.
 
Obviously, any changes in this respect have a tremendous effect on the outcome of our preferential bidding and it goes without saying that during the complex process of producing the rosters the Company`s requirement for efficiency must not have a negative impact on the best possible lifestyle for the majority of the pilots.
 
It is very important to understand that currently our CWA only states that we have a PBS in place and that pilots can bid for their off days. The PBS only consists of the interface we use to place our bids and submit our preferences. Which actual rostering system is being used by the Company, how it is defined and which parameters are being used for the production of the rosters are entirely outside the scope of the CWA. 
 
We realize that there is an urgent desire for a quick solution since roster issues can have a huge negative influence on our private lives, but please understand that it will take time to possibly find an agreement. In the meantime, when it comes to Off-Day bidding, we recommend considering what we mentioned in our Members Update for July 2021.
 
Work is in progress, and we are in a dialogue with Crew Planning Management and the Chief Pilot, where certainly your concerns and feedback are brought forward.
 
We will keep you informed of the progress.