Michael Kaiser No Comments

Members Update on Hotels

Thank you to all of you who are filing the Voyage Reports (VR) on the deficiencies in some of the hotels we are currently staying at. As the Hotel Committee we estimate that 80% of all VR are directly dealing with hotel issues. This is quite an alarming statistic as 3 years ago we might have received one or 2 a month. Sadly, the reasons for the increase is self-evident; The company no longer grants the Hotel Committee members the responsibility to ensure hotels are up to the required standard. Instead, management look at this as a cost item and not as a vital link of the “Safety Chain” that allows us to do our jobs correctly.

Hotels are an intricate part of ensuring we as pilots are well rested before duties. The important components of being rested are being able to control the temperature, lighting and that the noise is managed so that sleep is not disturbed. Other elements such as security and access to nutrition are also part of choosing hotels.

Please click here to see the full list of criteria, which now also is part of the CWA 2020-2022 and must be respected by the company when selecting hotels. If you observe any deficiencies  according to this list, please file a VR. 

In the Secure Content Locker of our iPads, Section 7, the Station Information of approved hotels should have been updated with the hotel benefits. In our regular meetings with management the Hotel Committee has urged that this data is up to date. If you see deficiencies/errors or omissions, please file a VR.

Generally, you will see that there a very few hotels situated at or in the vicinity of airports for one very obvious reason, noise. Exceptions are due to security reasons e.g. currently in HKG. If you are confronted with a last-minute change and sent to an airport hotel, please enforce the guidelines and politely ask to be taken to our normal hotel or a similar standard away from the airport.

The company has also tried to move crews to new hotels in a couple of destinations like KUL without any consultation of the Hotel Committee, which in our opinion is a violation of the Hotel Policy and also has been communicated to management as such. The Hotel Committee is currently trying to remedy these errors to ensure the hotels are up to standard.

As already communicated by your ALPL Cargolux Divisional Board, always apply a very high and professional standard when determining your capability to safely operate your next duty or series of duties!  A high quality of rest in our hotels definitely is a prerequisite for that! 

Again, if there are any deficiencies please send a VR via the iQSMS and also send a copy to cvhotels@alpl.lu. We as Hotel Committee cannot track problematic issues or make changes at hotels without having knowledge of your report. Thank you for your cooperation!

Please click here to read about updates in regard to some of our hotels.

Dirk Becker No Comments

Publication of second round of vacation bidding for First Officers

We have been informed by Flight Operations Management that the second round of vacation bidding for First Officers will not be ready for publication to meet the deadline on 16 November 2019. This is mainly due to sickness within the crew planning department and consequently the handover of this task to another planner not having the same level of experience.

To avoid a rushed and potential erroneous scheduling of vacation periods for First Officers we agreed to delay the publication for a few days until next week. The publication of the second round for Captains is not affected.

As a consequence the bidding deadline for VOFF days will also be delayed to allow sufficient time for these requests.

A separate communication has been published by Flight Operations Management.

Michael Kaiser No Comments

Members Update on Transition Roster Period 13+

With the newly signed CWA 2020-2022, a new off-days scheme including the switch from 13 roster periods to 12 monthly roster periods will be introduced. To cover the transition, Cargolux and the Staff Delegation agreed to the following:

  1. Roster period 13 will be extended by 10 days, covering the time between 24 November 2019 and 31 December 2019.
  1. The off-day entitlement for each pilot will be amended as follows:
    • 8 consecutive off-days (CODays) and
    • 5 consecutive floating off-days (FODays).
  1. The roster period overtime thresholds will be amended as follows:
    • Overtime will be paid for every duty hour worked above 225 duty hours during the period between 24 November 2019 and 31 December 2019.
    • Overtime will be paid for every block hour worked above 95 block hours during the period between 24 November 2019 and 31 December 2019.
  1. Additional “XPA-Days” will be allocated to pilots on 11% and 21,2% part time schemes, amounting to pro-rated 0,7 days and 1,4 days respectively. Pilots will be given 2 options to choose from:
    • The days can be paid out at a rate of 8 hours per full day respectively pro-rated, or
    • 1 additional “XPA-Day” (11% scheme) respectively 2 additional “XPA-Days” (21,2% scheme) will be allocated in one of the first 3 roster periods in 2020. 

Please click here to read the agreement that was signed by Cargolux Airlines International S.A. and the Staff Delegation of Cargolux International S.A.

We have been informed that Flight Ops Management together with Crew Planning are presently looking into ways if and how the PBS could be adapted covering the transition in roster period 13+.

Michael Kaiser No Comments

Members Update – October 2019

Please find below an update regarding:

  • Rostering and Fatigue
  • Hotels
  • Changes within the Divisional Board
  • New colleagues
  • 100% compliance with your CWA

Rostering and Fatigue
Many of you certainly do experience the effects of the disruptive rostering which has not decreased since a long time. With the high season in 2019 approaching and potentially not having enough crews to cover the flights, the impact on fatigue could cause additional delays due to the requirement for you as crew to have additional recovery time.

We want to reiterate that – according to EASA ORO.FTL.110 – it is the initial responsibility of the operator to manage and mitigate fatigue. It is in the first place the responsibility of the operator to schedule flights already in the planning stage so that rosters are sufficiently free from fatigue. A transfer of this obligation to the respective pilots to decide whether or not they would be able to operate a specific flight cannot be seen as a relief from the principle obligation of an operator.

Fatigue alerts that you receive from crew control are based on a mathematical model and trigger when the calculated alertness level exceed a predefined score. In fact, the actual alertness level could be higher or lower, depending on the real condition of the individual.

Furthermore, please understand that the mathematical model is purely binary and works with threshold values. Therefore, increasing the rest by just a few minutes might get rid of any previous fatigue-warning, but might by far not be sufficient to address the underlying problem.

In case you receive a fatigue alert, we strongly suggest applying a very high and professional standard determining your capability to safely operate any subsequent flight. Please remember that you possibly might face a situation where you have to justify your decisions.

As we have indicated in the past, maintaining a sleep log will assist you in making the professional decision. Also, do not forget to file a proactive Fatigue Report when asking for additional rest.

Please click here for additional guidance on how to write a proactive Fatigue Report. If you need further assistance don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via cvboard@alpl.lu.

Furthermore, it is according to OM-A Chapter 11, Section 2 mandatory to submit an ASR if the fatigue you experienced impacted or could have potentially impacted your ability to perform your flight duties safely. 

Hotels
Based on feedback that we receive from our members, there seems to be a trend developing that hotel rooms are either not fulfilling the standards mentioned in the hotel policy or are not booked for pilots when they show up. To facilitate the work of the hotel committee and to collect evidence we kindly ask you to file a Voyage Report (VR) anytime you find yourself in the same or similar situation and to send a copy of the report to cvhotels@alpl.lu. Thanks for your cooperation!

Changes within the Divisional Board
It is with regret that one of our fellow Board Members and Substitute Delegates of the Delegation, Olle van Zweden, has decided to resign from Cargolux for private reasons and to start a new career with a company that will enable him to better combine his professional and family life. Since his start with Cargolux in 2016, Olle has always been keen in getting involved in representative work to improve the terms and conditions of Cargolux pilots. His input and ideas helped us greatly during the last negotiations. On behalf of our members we wish him all the best for his future endeavor.

New colleagues
Along with the newly signed CWA, Cargolux is currently looking to employ further fellow pilot colleagues. We as Pilot Representatives are actively supporting Cargolux in spreading the word of open First Officer positions as the new terms and conditions in the new CWA ultimately require Cargolux to hire a significant number of additional pilots.

Therefore, we kindly ask you as a member to help us in doing so. Please reach out to possible candidates and do mention our new and improved CWA along with its contents. Amongst many items, the amended off-day scheme as for the consideration of previous experience makes this package a lot more appealing than it used to be. Remember, only if the crew factor is increased significantly the company will be in the position to fulfill their obligations that came along with the newly, improved conditions. 

As the passenger aviation market is rather ruff these days, we might be able to assist in hiring some colleagues that have maybe not heard of or considered cargo operation along with Cargolux.

At the same time, we ask you not to publish the entire CWA document in the internet. The CWA is a sensitive document which is part of the individual work contract and outlines the employment relation between the employee – you – and the company and as such shouldn’t be publicly disclosed.

100% compliance with your CWA
During the CWA negotiations, we asked you to follow the principals of the “100% compliance with your CWA” campaign. By withdrawing the flexibility and strictly following the CWA we made clear to management how much they got used to our extra effort and dedication in the past when all of us have frequently gone the so called “extra mile” and provided Cargolux with our service above and beyond what was agreed in the CWA.

Now, after having signed a new CWA, which will address the concerns our members have identified in recent years, we ask you to use your own judgement if you have to decide whether or not to go this “extra mile” again. Having said so, it should be understood by all parties that any contract should be honored at all times and waiving contractual rights should be the exception rather than the norm!

As we know, there will be multiple situations in the upcoming high season and beyond where you could make quite a difference by being “extra motivated”. It always has been the strength of Cargolux and its employees to make the most out of given opportunities.

We thank you for the tremendous support that you have shown and hope for a prosperous final sprint!

Michael Kaiser No Comments

Members Update on Crew Accommodation

First of all, we would like to thank all the members for taking the time to write the Voyage Reports (VR) highlighting the deficiencies at some of our current hotels. These reports are highly valuable as they provide us with evidence data when approaching both management and the individual hotels.

To further expand on issues you may have encountered, such as food poisoning, disturbances, room issues etc. that affect you, please notify the relevant hotel manager, be polite in your approach and follow it up with a VR, providing a copy to the Hotel Committee (HC). It is very difficult to address certain issues dating back by 3 months after the complaint!

As ANC is one our more frequently visited destinations you may have noticed the change to the Hilton hotel. The contract at the Marriott had been cancelled at short notice and we are currently investigating the main reason for this abrupt decision. Unfortunately, the Hilton is not providing us with the suitable rooms and many complaints are being filed. Cargolux management have been assessing the situation and we are waiting for a response to their visit with a prompt improvement in service.

We are still working on a few other hotels accumulating a higher than normal number of complaints, ICN being one of them. Although adequate offers from competitive hotels have been forwarded to management, they still do not see a reason to move us back to our old hotel the JW Marriott due to costs.

One of the arguments heard repeatedly is that a hotel “satisfies the hotel policy”. Therefore, it is important that if you write a voyage report you should always ask yourself, if this is really the case. Following the wording of an in-house policy is a required, but by far not sufficient prerequisite for selecting a suitable crew-accommodation. We should never forget the aim that any hotel-selection, anywhere, needs to provide an undisturbed pre- and postflight rest. Any other aspect such as budget or location are of secondary importance. We will elaborate later in this text on how to react when facing grievances.

LCK; we have been informed that a move is imminent, but management´s definition of imminent seems sometimes different from ours.

ALA; we are pleased to announce that a new contract has been signed with the Intercontinental, which some of you will remember.

JFK; rumors of closure are still floating around, but we have been assured that a suitable vendor for the property has not yet been found. Therefore, a short-term change seems to be unlikely, however we continue to assess this situation.

CGK is a new destination on our network with one frequency per week. The hotel committee has looked at the Shangri-La in town, which meets all the requirements including security. It was the intention that the hotel will be assessed for three months, but despite all the preparatory work unfortunately for the time being still the Mercure hotel is being planned. We will continue to work with management to ensure that the Shangri-La will be booked in the future.

There is still an issue where crews are not informed of hotels changes in a timely fashion as it used to be a few years ago. We have requested an improved communication procedure between Procurement Department and Flt Ops Management in order to avoid surprises and disruption to crew rest. We await an outcome to their meeting.

We continue to address hotel issues with our management, but this is only possible with you taking the time to write a VR and copying in cvhotels@alpl.lu in order for us to monitor any negative trends. 

As mentioned above, hotels have to be suitable, so that we as crew members are able to obtain undisturbed rest (meaning a quiet part of the hotel), where we can control the temperature and lighting. Should this not be the case a room change must be requested. Please explain to the hotel management in a polite way that you as a crew member are responsible to be fit for duty and if proper rest is not achieved, one consequence may be to delay the flight until such time as the required rest is achieved.

This is the first update since we asked our members to join the Hotel Committee to actively support those who are already part of it. We would like to thank the following new members joining David Wainwright and George Karambilas in their effort to improve and maintain the quality of hotels:

• Tim Garnich
• Jochen Ehrenfeld
• Jonas Hindersin
• Ingo Schuster
• Tobias Woll

Michael Kaiser No Comments

Members Update on Part Time

As the new CWA is signed, the company is now in the phase of implementing the new agreed text. Switching from 13 to 12-roster periods involves several changes.

The first proposal of the adjusted part time schemes from the company was based on an erroneous calculation. After consulting along with the CPO and Payroll Department, the schemes were correctly recalculated, based on the same principals as the once applied on the original version when these schemes were initially introduced in 2016.

If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the ALPL Board at cvboard@alpl.lu.