A recording of the Divisional Assembly 2020 is available online.
We encourage everyone, who was not able to attend the assembly on 02 July 2020 to watch this screencast.
In case you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your ALPL Board at cvboard@alpl.lu.
With increasing COVID-19 cases in many countries, it has become obvious that we will be confronted with this pandemic for an undetermined time and that it is far from over. The hotspots keep on changing and the dynamics are experienced by all of us through e.g. frequent roster changes and restrictions while having a layover.
Commercial Positioning
It has been communicated by management in early June that commercial positioning between selected airports and on selected airlines will resume. However, given the general situation in the US and a pilot report that we recently received, the Delegation sent a letter to Senior Management with the request to immediately stop commercial positioning within the US. Please click here to read the letter.
Application of the CWA
We would like to remind you of the new FTL in the CWA that are applicable as of 1 July 2020. Please familiarize yourself with the respective paragraphs. Information can also be found by reading our “Know your CWA 2020” series that was sent to you via email and is also available on our ALPL website under Publications/Cargolux Board/Know Your CWA.
Having said this we would like to reiterate, that there is no agreement between the Unions and the company for a derogation of elements within the CWA because of COVID-19. We have been informed by individual members that e.g. crew control mentioned towards them that the rules in the CWA governing “back to back” operation are waived. This is not the case and it is still up to the individual pilot to accept any deviation from the CWA. Should you be faced with such a statement by crew control, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.
Sectional Tripartite
The government has asked for a meeting between the Unions, Luxair, Cargolux, Luxairport and government representatives, also referred to as “Tripartite pour le secteur de l ´aviation”, in July. At this point it is unclear what the government’s agenda items are but considering the general economic situation of the global aviation industry we realize that we are not immune against those challenges and that our fortunate situation could be jeopardized. We will keep you informed.
Stay safe and healthy!
The Know Your CWA page has been updated by adding information regarding FDP for an Augmented Flight Crew.
Click here or on the ‘CWA’ menu item to access this page.
Please find below an update regarding:
New FTL as of 1 July 2020
As of 1 July 2020, the new flight time limitations for Standard and Augmented Crew Operation of the CWA 2020-2022 will become effective. This marks a big change in our daily operation and is the last main claim of the CWA negotiations that is going to be implemented.
Remember, during the CWA negotiations we all – you, your fellow members and we as your Board – put in a lot of effort to achieve these changes in the CWA with the aim to reduce fatigue levels and increase flight safety. As of 1 July, it will depend on us as individuals being part of the Cargolux pilot community to ensure, that these new rules are followed. This requires that we all have a good understanding of them.
Please familiarize yourself with the new tables and read the emails of our “Know your CWA 2020” series, which can also be found on the website under Publications/Cargolux Board/Know Your CWA.
Please bear in mind that we can negotiate conditions for our members but safeguarding their implementation first and foremost is the obligation of each individual pilot. Therefore, we urge you to be vigilant and remember, if you need assistance, the Board is there to help you.
COVID-19 Update – Changes at Destinations
At various destinations where infection rates are dropping there will be a return to ‘normal’ operations and hotels.
Below is the list of these initial changes:
ATL: Layovers will commence shortly
GDL: Mexico City is still above the trigger point on infections. Layovers may commence into GDL initially and then move back to MEX. This will cease staging flights from IAH
ORD: Layovers will move back to downtown
BAH: Layovers will resume
JFK: Layovers move back to NY and initially to the Garden City Hotel on Long Island. The COVID cases in downtown Manhattan are close to the trigger point and once the situation further improves, we will be moving back.
In mainland China, the authorities will require COVID testing for layovers and will impose that crews stay at their nominated hotels. Our position remains that in the current situation, no layovers in mainland China are to be scheduled. We expect BKK to ease their lockdown in early July and SIN continues and will maintain their lockdown most likely at least until September.
The trans-pacific flights operating through CGO have been prioritized during turnarounds to ensure they are able to be completed within the planned FDP. Without you filing ASR’s and informing us, this process would not have been on the radar of Senior Management. This shows once more that your efforts pay off!
Demonstrations
In the US, many cities we operate to have imposed curfews to reduce the violence. Please be vigilant in SEA, LAX, DFW, ATL and ORD. It appears to be abating and demonstrations appear to be more peaceful. At LCK and SEA the layovers were temporarily moved away from the hotspots.
In HKG the airport hotel will continue to be used. As indicated in previous updates the recommended hotel was not chosen and your feedback is required if any deficiencies or disturbances occur during your rest. It is expected to move back to the Shangri La in Kowloon as soon as possible.
Human Factors
We would like to remind our members to support the Human Factors department in the Cargolux Flight Crew Job Analysis, if possible. The original email was sent before the COVID-19 crisis on 29 January. A reminder was sent recently on 4 June 2020.
The Human Factors Department is conducting this validation study on Cargolux’s pilot selection procedures in compliance with EASA regulation ED Decision 2018/012/R AMC1 CAT.MPA.175(b). The information you provide remains anonymous if you wish so.
If you would like to assist, please search your emails with the title ‘Invitation to Participate in Cargolux Flight Crew Job Analysis’.
With this newsletter, we would like to give you a little overview of the Voyage Reports on Hotel deficiencies you sent us over the year 2019 and show you the statistic that highlights some of the events and trends we picked up.
A staggering amount of 77 Voyage Reports was received as pdf-copies and we would like to thank you for not only sharing your reports with us, the Hotel Committee, but also taking the effort to put it into writing. This allows us to follow up with Senior Management on deficiencies, unsuitable hotels and directly getting in contact with hotel management, even if that station received a single report over the entire year!
40 reports were directly related to “Crew Rest Disturbance”, where some of them are simply the consequence to no updated bookings and the common calls from housekeeping/reception to check on the booking status with the crew member directly. Unfortunately, not all Voyage Reports are being properly investigated as they don’t always end up with the right department. Crew rest disturbances has also been brought up at the FSAG when you have filed ASRs after having delayed a flight.
Your reports are well received and enable us to show the trends and highlights to Senior Management, address omissions to OM-A/CWA requirements and provide proof to flawed bookings procedures etc. It also highlighted to the company that certain hotels were well below standard (e.g. GIG airport hotel) thus enabling us to address the issues with them and to subsequently move to approved and inspected hotels by the Hotel Committee like in Almaty, New York, Seoul and of course Anchorage. In Columbus our recommended hotel was disregarded and we were forced to move to the current hotel that still receives Voyage Reports.
Below we broke down a few highlights in more details such as:
ANCHORAGE
The highlight and biggest issue in the last year was quite obviously the Anchorage Hilton with 26 reports alone and these reports were received within roughly 3 months! We sometimes received multimedia attachments to demonstrate the unacceptable outside noise level, got shown pictures of technical deficiencies in bathrooms, broken window handles and frames etc.
Various reasons led to this spike and in summary we can say that the vast amount of reports could have been avoided if we had either been able to stay at the Marriott or if we had been able to move quicker to the Sheraton. Unfortunately, the Marriott canceled the contract with Cargolux and forced us to the Hilton, were unfortunately the agreed renovated rooms were not always reserved for us as initially agreed by the hotel.
HONG KONG
The reports we received for Hong Kong were only related to the airport hotels booked during the social unrest, the Regal and the Marriott. After being consulted again for the recent and temporary move to the airport, the Marriott SkyCity was selected. We clearly communicated to Senior Management our concerns due to the previous Voyage Reports we received, mostly related to aircraft and construction noise next door. We recommended the Novotel Hong Kong Citygate in Tung Chung, which was inspected by us in October 2019 with enough proximity to the airport and the Citygate Outlets in walking distance, with its many food and shopping options as well as the adjacent MTR station. The argument against it was, that social distancing in the Novotel Crew transport could not be guaranteed.
INCHEON
The move from the JW Marriott was only supposed to be a temporary measure whilst the hotel underwent renovations. We were never consulted nor allowed to provide suitable alternatives whilst the renovations took place, and we were forced to move to the Sheraton. Most complaints were related to the inability to control the room temperature and noise complaints. We hope to have a suitable alternative soon that we are actively working on.
LUXEMBOURG
During B2B operation we had seen a few cases were crews were booked in a B&B style hotel in Trier-Igel which was neither inspected nor would have ever been approved by us, as it was not fulfilling the basic requirements. In one case, a crew member had to report unfit for duty due to the inability to blackout the light. Similar cases were reported in the NH, which was used quite often on B2B operations, where the complaints mostly related to the lack of temperature control.
SUMMARY
Many deficiencies occur when suitable hotels are not selected. This occurs as costs are the determining factor. The same cost cutting approach has caused cancellations of contracts by hotel managements at various destinations.
The detailed items show in the statistic, that your single report is vital in order for us to act and address issues with Senior Management and with hotels directly. The statistic also reveals the weakness of Cargolux’s booking system and process, mainly for Area 1 (North America), as the majority of Voyage Reports are addressing issues in the US (47). These issues are mostly linked to delays and schedule changes, that are not updated or being unnoticed due to the non-existing 24/7 coverage of A1 travel office.
As long as these issues are not eliminated, we still expect “Crew Rest Disturbances”, “No Bookings upon Arrival” to be happening in the future and we therefore would like to emphasize again every one of you to be vigilant and keep us sending your Voyage Reports, also during COVID-19 operations and social unrest. We have to maintain our minimum hotel standards, our first gate to maintain flight safety!
Stay safe and keep reporting!
The Know Your CWA page has been updated by adding information regarding FDP for a Standard Flight Crew.
Click here or on the ‘CWA’ menu item to access this page.
The Know Your CWA page has been updated by adding information regarding Positioning immediately before or following an operating sector.
Click here or on the ‘CWA’ menu item to access this page.
Please find below another update on the current situation of our hotels.
CWB
As explained in the last ALPL Members Update in May, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Sao Paolo and Rio, there will be no layovers in VCP. The Hotel Committee was asked what recommended hotel could be used.
We normally stayed at the Pestana Hotel but due to the crisis it is closed. We contacted the Bourbon Curitiba Convention Hotel who advised that they were open for business and would provide breakfast and dinner from their restaurant.
We ask that you please provide any reports to the Hotel Committee at cvhotels@alpl.lu as this decision was done fairly quickly and we have not had a chance to view the hotel.
KUL
The Malaysian Health Ministry has relaxed the lockdown procedures and we have moved out of the Sama Sama airport hotel. Our normal hotel JW Marriott is still closed due to the crisis and they have arranged to move crew layovers at their partner hotel Ritz Carlton.
We were advised that breakfast may be available, but we need some feedback on what is the current situation.
SIN/BKK
The lockdown continues in these two cities. We are advised that SIN will continue the lockdown as late as September 2020. BKK has not indicated any timeline at this point in time.
Senior Management has agreed that when layovers in SIN are 2 nights/3 days a suite will be booked for those layovers to alleviate the harsh lockdown procedures imposed by the local authorities.
HKG
The recent events from the Chinese central government on new legislation that may be imposed on HKG has restarted the demonstrations in HKG. We ask that you pay attention what areas you venture into. Please ask the front desk or concierge what information they have on where the demonstrations may occur and avoid them.
On days where the demonstrations may hinder the area towards Kowloon (TST), we have recommended that the Novotel Tung Chung near the airport should be used for layovers.
Conclusions
If there are any deficiencies or recommendations, you would like us to address please send an email to cvhotels@alpl.lu
We regularly update the document of our current hotels for your information. Please click here to have a look.
Please find below an update concerning:
Practical Drift from the CWA
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic we all are facing unprecedented times. Numerous roster changes, heavy restrictions during layovers and additional flight deck procedures are burdens of this pandemic.
At the same time many colleagues show their dedication and willingness to support the company by offering their flexibility and going beyond the scope of the CWA to make things happen. Although it appears to be justified during these times, it bears the risk of a systematic practical drift from the CWA.
You might already have seen roster changes that are not according to the CWA, simply because the continuous commitment and flexibility shown by the pilot community raised certain expectations from the company´s side.
We therefore urge you to be familiar with your CWA, know your rights and obligations and to make a conscious decision when deviating from it. Don’t forget how hard it was to achieve the improvements in the new CWA. This effort makes it even more precious.
Flying into VAC
In the last negotiations the main objective concerning vacation was to protect vacation days and to make sure that pilots are scheduled to be free of any duty at least 12 hours before the first vacation day. The new CWA includes various levels of compensation a pilot is entitled to, should he/she arrive late on the day before the first vacation day. So far, so good.
However, we have been made aware of cases where pilots arrived on their first vacation day and the current interpretation by the company could result in a disadvantaged compensation compared to a late arrival on the day before the first vacation day.
We therefore strongly recommend refraining from accepting any extension of a rotation into your vacation period until we have clarified the issue.
Please remember that the company cannot plan a pilot – neither before nor during the trip – into his/her vacation period without expressed consent.
Fatigue Management due to COVID-19
In the regular meetings with Senior Management we have highlighted numerous times that managing fatigue in advance for crews must be planned. We have extensive data on what doesn’t work and have brought up certain FDP combinations that needed addressing.
As always, we ask that you complete a Fatigue Report after a fatigue event or if necessary, proactively via the “Reporting” App on the Company iPad. Guidelines for filing a Fatigue Report can be found here.
The Know Your CWA page has been updated by adding information regarding Duty consisting solely of Positioning.
Click here or on the ‘CWA’ menu item to access this page.
