Cargolux

On 07 September 2017 members of the ALPL Cargolux Divisional Board, the ALPL Executive Board and the National President of the LCGB met with François Bausch, Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, to clarify urgent questions about the strategy of Cargolux in terms of Henan Cargo Airlines (HCA) and the possible benefits or disadvantages for Cargolux and its staff.

Regarding the economic situation of Cargolux, Minister Bausch believed a positive outlook was possible for the 2017 annual results. He further assessed the partnership with Emirates Sky Cargo as constructive. He distinctly dismissed any internal rumors that Emirates Sky Cargo wanted to end the partnership.

Cargolux’s zig-zag course concerning the Chinese-Luxembourgish joint venture HCA is, however, irritating. LCGB and ALPL raised various questions relating to the impact on the maintenance center and the pilots. In particular, the ancillary agreements, pilot training and a possible placement of Cargolux pilots at HCA and the possible reduction of the fleet size due to possible aircraft transfers to HCA. As numerous questions remain unanswered, Minister Bausch stated that it currently would be difficult to assess the development of the partnership and the possible contribution options for Cargolux. An active participation by means of transferring 3 aircraft to HCA is just one of many options.

Your representatives made it clear that the current fleet size of Cargolux will have to be maintained even in case of a transfer of aircraft from Cargolux to the Henan Cargo Airline. Additionally, ALPL and LCGB have no doubt that growth must also be generated at Cargolux in order to permanently secure the company’s existence as well as the jobs in Luxembourg.

Minister Bausch assured that due to structural and personnel changes in the HNCA shareholder, no profound changes could be expected for the fleet size before the end of 2019.

It was underlined by your ALPL and LCGB representatives, that urgent solutions must be found and that it is important to send a clear message to the staff at Cargolux. Regular meetings with employee representatives and making transparent important information is indispensable in order to avoid wild speculations and uncertainties.

After we looked at the CODs in the last issue of our series „Know your CWA“, in this issue we take a closer look at the „Floating Off- Days“ or in short FODs.

Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.

These rules are applicable for all pilots except for the allocation and entitlement of RBO. The entitlement of RBO for pilots employed at or after 01 December 2015 is regulated differently and was explained in the issue “Off Days – General”.

Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. However, as a pilot you should know what these rules are. If a pilot notices a none compliance with the CWA it is his right that his roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.

37.1.3. FODays
a) Once the 3 FODays have been published, they can only be changed as follows:
 
i)   They can be moved within the initially scheduled Roster Period as a block, provided that the Pilot receives a minimum of 24 hours notice of the planned change when at Home Base. When the Pilot is away from Home Base, a minimum notification time is not required. 
ii)  If the number of FODays is reduced, or if a Pilot´s ground Duty is not completed by 22:00 local before the 1st FODay, or if the Pilot´s Duty ends whether operating, positioning or dead-heading – 00:01 or later on the day before the first planned FODay, in which cases the Pilot is compensated as follows:

1) For each FODay and/or the 24RBO, a one-for-one day is attached to the CODays of  the following unpublished Roster, carrying the same value as a CODay.
2) In case the entire block of FODays and the 24RBO will be moved into the next unpublished Roster, the Pilot is credited, in addition to 1), with 8 Duty Hours (not counting to the maximum Duty Hours limitation).

b) If the FODays and a block of vacation days are scheduled back to back, only one 24RBO is scheduled preceding this combined block of OFF and vacation days.

c) As of January 01 2017 the Company will introduce a system to immobilize the FODs. Details of this system will be worked out by the JCSC based on following principles:
i) Immobilizing FODays during the roster periods 11 through 13 inclusive is not permitted.
ii) 5 instances per full calendar year. 
iii) FODays that have been immobilized have the same value as CODays. 
iv) The RBOs, as applicable, are not affected by the FOD immobilization and shall be handled as per the general rules applicable to Rest Before Off as set out in the CWA.
v) Not more than 50% of either BC or FO can be on immobilized FOD in any given roster.

Below you will find some comments and explanations regarding Art. 37.1.3.

• Art. 37.1.3. a) i) and ii) permits the company to change FOD any time after they have been published. Changes are permitted observing the following limitations:
  1. FOD can be only moved as a block within the initially scheduled roster period.
  2. It is not possible to move individual FOD away from this block.

• As per Art. 37.1.1. h) a FOD may be planned to start on the day after a ground duty, such as simulator or ground school, if this ground duty is scheduled to finish not later than 22.00 local time. If this ground duty finishes after 22.00 local time, the pilot is entitled to select compensation as described below.

• Art 37.1.3 a) ii) gives the company the opportunity to extend a pilot’s duty into the RBO before the FOD. Paragraph a) ii) of this article states: „…if the Pilot Duty ends – whether operating, positioning or dead-heading – 00:01 or later on the day before the first planned FODay, then the Pilot is entitled to select compensation.“ The „day before the first planned FODay“ is the RBO. Per definition the RBO is not a FOD. If a pilot’s duty is extended into the RBO he is entitled to compensation for this.

Important: According to B1-37.1.1., the RBO can be reduced from 24 hours to 18 hours without receiving any compensation in the event of a delay.

In other words: 
1. In case of a delay, compensation according to Art. 37.1.2 e) is only applicable if the pilot´s duty ends at 06.01h local time or later.

2. In case of a reschedule, e.g. roster change with different return flight, the pilot is entitled to select compensation if the duty ends already at 00.01 h local time or later on the day before the first planned COD.

The following options exists for the company to compensate the pilot:

1. Receive 1 Off-Day for every FOD and the RBO to be scheduled within the next unpublished roster period, attached to the 6 COD block for that roster period. These “owed FOD” will then have the same value as COD, meaning they will be treated like COD in the roster period they will be moved to and all rules stipulated in CWA Art. 37.1.2. for COD are applicable to these “owed FOD”.

2. If the entire block of FOD including the RBO is moved into the next unpublished roster period the pilot shall receive additionally 8 Duty Hours in the roster period the FOD were removed from.

• Art. 37.1.3. c) governs in principle the immobilization of FOD. As of January 2017, 5 times per year between and including Roster Periods 1 and 10, blocks of FFOD will be allocated to each pilot. FFOD have the same value as COD and the same rules according to CWA 37.1.2. are applicable. The details of the system are to be worked out by the JCSC (Joint Crew Scheduling Committee) and the agreement will be published, once signed.

• Please note that the CWA does not foresee a financial compensation for FOD like for COD as stipulated in Art. 37.1.2. e) iii).

• At Home Base the pilot is entitled to 24 hours notice of such a change. While away from Home Base there is no minimum notice required.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

After we looked at the general rules covering Off- Days in the last issue of our series “Know your CWA”, in this issue we take a closer look at “Consecutive Off- Days” or in short CODs.

Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.

These rules are applicable for all pilots except for the allocation and entitlement of RBO. The entitlement of RBO for pilots employed at or after 01 December 2015 is regulated differently and was explained in our last issue “Off Days – General”.

Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. However as a pilot you should know what these rules are. If a pilot notices a none compliance with the CWA it is his right that his roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.

37.1.2. CODays

a)Under exceptional circumstances (not more than 2 occurrences per calendar year), up to 2 days of the 6 or more CODays can be scheduled to overlap into the next Roster Period. If the COD’s are overlapping into the next Roster Period, it must be clearly identified on both Rosters.

b)Once a block of 6 or more CODays have been published, they can not be altered without the consent of the Pilot concerned.

c)A Pilot can request:
i)  To have the CODays starting on a specific date via the PBS.
ii)  Three times per year the CODays to be scheduled “back to back” in
2 consecutive Roster Periods.
iii) CODays to encompass specific dates via the PBS.

d)If the CODays and a block of vacation days are scheduled back to back, regardless if requested by the Pilot or not, one 24RBO is scheduled preceding this combined block of off and vacation days.

e)If a Pilot’s ground Duty is not completed by 22:00 local before the 1st CODay, or if the Pilot Duty ends – whether operating, positioning or dead-heading – 00:01 or later on the day before the first planned CODay, then the Pilot is entitled to select compensation from the following 3 alternatives:

i)   Move the CODays as a block to accommodate the operational delay, including the 24RBO.
ii) The block of CODays may be shortened to accommodate the late arrival at Home Base by receiving compensation at the rate of 2 Off-Days for every CODay and 24RBOday within the next unpublished Roster Period, attached to the 6 CODays block for that Period.
iii) The block of CODays may be shortened to accommodate the late arrival at Home Base receiving compensation by the payment of Off-Days overtime according to the following formula:
(Basic salary divided by 173) plus 50% supplement with not less than 8 hours counted per missing Off – Day. In this case, duty hours worked in CODays are not added to the total Roster Period credit hours.

Below you will find some comments and explanations regarding Art. 37.1.2.

• Maximum twice per calendar year, up to 2 days of the COD can be scheduled to overlap into the next roster period. This must be clearly identified on both Rosters. This is done by the crew scheduling department by adding a Memo to the pilot’s roster, which is visible in AIMS eCrew.

• Once COD have been published these COD cannot be altered without the consent of the Pilot. Published in this respect means that the roster has to be sent out by the crew scheduling departement every 4 weeks, two weeks before this roster period commences, as defined in CWA B1-37.3.

• A pilot may decline a request to operate into one or more of the COD. The pilot is entitled that his roster is in compliance with the CWA at all times. It is important to understand that the RBO is by definition not a COD and that it is possible for the company to extend a Duty so it ends on the RBO.

• As per Article 37.1.1. h) a COD may be planned to start on the day after a ground duty, such as simulator or ground school, if this ground duty is scheduled to finish not later than 22.00 local time. If this ground duty finishes after 22.00 local time, the pilot is entitled to select compensation as described below.

• Article 37.1.2. e) gives the company the opportunity that you operate into the RBO before the COD. Paragraph e) of this article states “…if the Pilot Duty ends – whether operating, positioning or dead-heading – 00:01 or later on the day before the first planned CODay, then the Pilot is entitled to select compensation.“  The „day before the first planned CODay“ is the RBO. Per definition the RBO is not a COD and therefore it is possible for the company to have a pilot’s duty, be it operating or positioning, extended into the RBO, but only into the RBO. If a pilot is on duty on the RBO he is entitled to compensation as per Art. 37.1.2. e).

Important: According to B1-37.1.1., the RBO can be reduced from 24 hours to 18 hours without receiving any compensation in the event of a delay.

In other words:

1. In case of a delay, compensation according to Art. 37.1.2 e) is only applicable if the pilot´s duty ends at 06.01h local time or later.

2. In case of a reschedule, e.g. roster change with different return flight, the pilot is entitled to select compensation if the duty ends already at 00.01 h local time or later on the day before the first planned COD.

• A pilot does not have to accept any duty extending into one of the COD. A pilot may insist that his roster is changed and that he is free of all duties at Home Base before the COD commences, which is as per CWA Art. 37.1.1. a) at 00.01h local time of the first COD. It is the obligation of the company to amend a pilot’s roster accordingly, which may include positioning the pilot home.

• As mentioned above, a pilot is entitled to select compensation as per Art. 37.1.2 e).

Please refer to CWA B1-36.2 Specification of Beginning and End of Duty times for the correct calculation of duty times.

It is only the pilot who decides how he wants to be compensated. The pilot may select between the following options:

1. Move COD, including the RBO, as a block.

2. Receive 2 Off-Days for every COD and the RBO to be scheduled within the next unpublished roster period, attached to the 6 COD block for that roster period. These “owed COD” keep the same value, meaning they remain COD and cannot be moved without the consent of the pilot.

3. Payment of Off-Days overtime as defined in Art. 37.1.2 e) iii)

Example A:
Below is the roster of a pilot, showing that he was planned to return for his COD on 17 March:

The flight back from IAH was then delayed and he now arrives back on 18 March, which is the RBO. As explained it is possible for the company to extend a Duty into the RBO. His duty ends at 06.01h local time.

The pilot can now choose the compensation:

If he decides that his COD including the RBO would be moved as per Art. 37.1.2. e) i), his roster would look like this in AIMS eCrew:

If he elects to receive compensation of the missing RBO on 18 March by receiving 2 Off- Days for the RBO as defined in Art. 37.1.2. e) ii); or payment as defined in Art. 37.1.2. e) iii), his roster would look like this in AIMS eCrew:

Example B:
Due to several roster changes the return flights to LUX for 2 pilots are now completely different from what they originally have been scheduled when they left LUX.

Pilot A now only positions from GYD to LUX while Pilot B operates the same flight. Both pilots have their COD scheduled to start after this flight, with the RBO scheduled on the day after they arrive back in LUX.

The flight from GYD to LUX arrives at 23.45h local time.
 The duty of Pilot A ends at Block On, at 23.45 local time, as his duty consisted solely of positioning. His duty does not extend into his RBO and he is not entitled to compensation as per Art. 37.1.2. e).

The duty of Pilot B ends 30 minutes after Block On at 00.15h local time. His duty does extend into his RBO and he is entitled to compensation as per Art. 37.1.2. e).

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

Please read the attached letter we sent to the CEO on 14 August. The ALPL remains alert and concerned about continued efforts to recruit and possibly train Direct Entry Captains here at Cargolux for Henan Cargo Airlines (JVA). Already one year ago we first saw such an attempt where a pilot with command experience only on B737 was offered command training at Cargolux‘ earmarked to operate at the JVA.

This resulted in a meeting late last year where management was informed this pilot would not qualify to operate as a Captain in China on the B747 as he had no experience on a weight class similar to the B747. In fact, for this pilot to meet the Chinese commander requirements would have taken close to four years operating in Cargolux.

As no fault of his own, we believe Cargolux management misinformed this pilot and created an unnecessary and embarrassing situation. A compromise was found to complete his B747 type-rating and Captain training, but thereafter only operate from the right seat as a First Officer until his one year contract would expire. This pilot is no longer part of the pilot group at Cargolux.

Since those discussions in November last year, management appears to ignore our voiced concerns by allowing the joint venture team to continue recruitment efforts for pilots, even promising some of them Direct Entry Captain training and initial operating experience (IOE) here at Cargolux before heading to China.

According to the Chinese Pilots Association (ChALPA), our IFALPA colleagues, the legal requirements of flight experience, training and hours on weight-class category aircraft to be eligible for commander training at Henan Cargo are actually fulfilled by most of our Cargolux Senior First Officers today. Disappointingly, management is not talking with us about how to facilitate a possible career path opportunity for our First Officers and Captains which could include secondment to Henan Cargo Airlines.

We recall hearing promises by management about continued growth of Cargolux in Luxembourg, yet what can be seen is Cargolux Italia still operating Cargolux SA flights and employing roughly 100 pilots not paying taxes in Luxembourg. This does impact the career paths of crews which have been loyal to Cargolux for more than 12 years!

Management needs to initiate constructive dialogue!

Cargolux Italia, Henan Cargo and not enough pilots. Whatever else is coming up on the radar will push-up against the already very (over)stressed patience of the Cargolux pilot community. 

In this issue of our series “Know your CWA” we take a closer look at “Off-Days”, starting with Art. B1-37.1.1., which provides general rules for Off-Days. We will expand on the COD and FOD in the next issues.

Below you find the article as published in the current CWA. Further below we provide some comments and explanations for this article.

In general, these rules are applicable for all pilots except for the allocation and entitlement of RBO. The entitlement of RBO for pilots employed at or after 01 December 2015 is regulated differently and explained in the text below.

Like always it is the obligation of the company to follow these rules and a pilot is entitled to a roster reflecting these rules. If a pilot notices a none compliance with the CWA it is their right that his roster will be changed to be fully compliant with the CWA.

B1-37.1. Off-Day Scheme
B1-37.1.1. General
a) An Off-Day is defined as a period of 24 hours free of all Duties commencing at 00:01 local time.

b) All Off-Days will be fixed at Home Base, if not agreed otherwise by the individual Pilot and Company.

c)Each Pilot is entitled to 9 Off-Days at Home Base per 28 days Roster Period. Off- Days will be allotted to each Pilot in 2 blocks and will be clearly identified on the published Rosters as:
i) 6 Consecutive OFF-Days (CODays)
ii) 3 Consecutive Floating OFF Days (FODays)

d) Each block of Off-Days (CODays and FODays) will be preceded by a period of 24 hours Rest Before Off day (24RBO). The rest time guaranteed before a block of Off-Days is 24 hours.
 
* Note: There are some differences for pilots employed after 01 December 2015, which are mentioned in CWA B3-35.2.

************************ 

B3-35.2 OFF days
OFF days and RBO will be planned the same as pilots starting before December 01 2015, except for the first 5 years of a contract.
 
Following rules apply for the first 5 years:
• Year 1: No RBO before FOD and COD
• Year 2: No RBO before FOD and COD
• Year 3: No RBO before COD, 24/18 hours RBO before FOD
• Year 4: 12 hours RBO before COD, 24/18 hours RBO before FOD
• Year 5: same system as pilots starting before December 01 2015

************************************

In the event of a delay, the 24 hours rest can be reduced to 18 hours and no compensation will be given for the reduced rest.

e) If a block of 6 or more CODays and a block of 3 FODays are scheduled back to back, only one 24RBO is scheduled preceding the total block of Off-Days. If during the daily operation phase of a Roster, the FODays are rescheduled away from the block of CODays, a 24RBO is scheduled preceding the block of CODays and 3 FODays.

f) No Duties consisting solely of ground training will be scheduled between:
i) two Off-Day blocks
ii) an Off-Day block and a vacation block

g) No period in excess of 24 consecutive calendar duty days will be scheduled between 2 blocks of OFF days, or a block of OFF days and a block of vacation days.

h) A block of CODays and/or a block of FODays can be planned to start on the day following a ground Duty planned at Home Base provided that this ground Duty is planned to finish no later than 22:00 local time. In this case, the 24RBO does not apply, but shall be compensated by adding an additional day to the FODays within the next unpublished Roster.

Below you will find some comments and explanations regarding Art. B1-37.1.1. However, most of this article should be self-explanatory.

Please take particularly note of the definition of the Rest Before Off- Day (RBO) below.

a) This paragraph defines the term Off- Day as free off all duties commencing at 00.01 local time.

b) Off- Days can only be scheduled at Home Base, which is defined in CWA Part III as “For all Employees at the Company and for the Company itself: Luxembourg Airport.” However a Pilot could agree with the Company that his Off-Days would be scheduled at a different location. This would require mutual consent.

c) Stipulates that per 28 day Roster Period 9 Off- Days have to be scheduled. The Off- Days will be allocated in 2 blocks, 6 as COD and 3 as FOD. Both COD and FOD blocks consist of consecutive blocks of Off- Days.

The text of this paragraph does not prevent that both Off- Day blocks, FOD and COD, are scheduled back-to-back, meaning as one block of consecutive Off- Days. However even if scheduled as a block FOD remain FOD and COD remain COD, meaning that FOD could still be rescheduled without the consent of the pilot. We will expand on FOD and COD in the next issue in more detail.

d) This paragraph defines that before each Off- Day block one RBO needs to be scheduled.

Please note, that per definition a RBO is not an Off- Day and that you may be scheduled to operate into the RBO. However, the RBO will be compensated, if a duty extends into the RBO. We will expand on this in the next issue of this series.

*Note: The following is applicable for pilots employed at or after 01 December 2015.

During the first 5 years, a spool up of RBO as mentioned below is foreseen:
• Year 1: No RBO before FOD and COD
• Year 2: No RBO before FOD and COD
• Year 3: No RBO before COD, 24/18 hours RBO before FOD
• Year 4: 12 hours RBO before COD, 24/18 hours RBO before FOD
• Year 5: same system as pilots starting before 01 December 2015

e) Whenever the blocks of COD and FOD are scheduled back to back, meaning as one consecutive block of Off- Days, the Pilot is only entitled to one RBO before this consecutive block of FOD and COD.

If COD and FOD have been scheduled back to back and if the FOD block is rescheduled away from the COD block, the Pilot is entitled to one RBO before each Off- Day block.

f) This paragraph prevents, that ground training events, e.g. simulator or ground school, are scheduled between two Off- Day blocks or between a block of vacation days and an Off- Day block.

g)  This limits the number of consecutive calendar days between Off- Day blocks or between an Off- Day block and a block of vacation days to a maximum of 24 days. It is the obligation of the company that this is observed and a pilot is entitled that his roster is changed accordingly, if more than 24 calendar duty days are scheduled.

h) If before COD or FOD a ground Duty, e.g. simulator or ground school, at Home Base, which is per definition Luxembourg, finishes latest at 22.00 local time, the FOD and COD may start at 00.01 of the next following day. In this case a RBO does not have to be scheduled between the ground Duty and the first COD or FOD. However, the RBO will have to be added to the next unpublished roster period.

Example A:
Ground duty finishes latest at 22.00 local time  –  the RBO is not required before the Off- Day block:

Roster is indicated in UTC.

Example B:
Ground duty finishes after 22.00 local time  –  the RBO is required before the Off- Day block:

Roster is indicated in UTC.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

In this issue of our series “Know your CWA” we take a closer look at “Standby (SBY)” and “Reserve (RES)”. The CWA distinguishes between:

• Home Base Airport Standby
• Standby other than airport standby and
• Reserve

B1-36.7 Standby
B1-36.7.1 Home Base Airport standby
The following applies to Pilots on airport standby:

• Airport standby shall be in the roster and the start and end time of airport standby shall be defined and notified in advance to the Pilots concerned to provide them with the opportunity to plan adequate rest.
• The maximum duration of airport standby is 8 hours.
• A crew member is considered on airport standby from reporting at the reporting point until the end of the notified airport standby period.
• Airport standby shall count in full as duty period.
• Accommodation is provided to the crew member on airport standby.
• The response time between call and FDP start is 30 minutes to account for physiological needs.
• If not leading to the assignment of an FDP, airport standby is followed by a rest period.
• If an assigned FDP starts during airport standby, the following applies:
• The FDP counts from the start of the FDP. The maximum FDP is reduced by any time spent on airport standby in excess of 4 hours.
• The maximum combined duration of airport standby and assigned FDP is 16 hours unless the FDP has been extended due in-flight rest or split-duty.
• The Pilot has to be reachable by phone during Standby.

Limitation for airport standby in addition to any other standby will be 3 times per year and no more than 2 consecutive days.

B1-36.7.2 Standby other than airport standby
The following applies to Pilots on standby other than airport standby:

• The maximum duration of standby other than airport standby is 8 hours.
• The combination of standby other than airport standby and FDP does not lead to more than 18 hours awake time. Full standby time will be considered in the evaluation of the pilot’s alertness level under FRMS.
• 25% of time spent on standby other than airport standby counts as duty time for the purpose of Flight Times and Duty Periods limitations.
• Standby is followed by a rest period.
• Standby ceases when the Pilot reports at the designated reporting point.
• If standby ceases within the first 6 hours, the maximum FDP counts from reporting.
• If standby ceases after the first 6 hours, the maximum FDP is reduced by the amount of standby time exceeding 6 hours.
• If the FDP is extended due to in-flight rest or to split duty, the 6 hours above are extended to 8 hours.
• The Pilot has to be reachable by phone during Standby.
• The response time between call and reporting time is minimum 2 hours.
• Notifications of assigned duties should avoid interference with sleeping patterns if possible.
• Suitable accommodation shall be provided if a Pilot is required to be on standby away from home base.
• Pilots are expected to manage rest and nap opportunities while on standby. Therefore the beginning of the awake time correlates with the call out time.
• The exact hours that the Pilot is required to be on Standby duty will appear on his Roster.
• During Standby duty, a minimum of 8 hours per day is counted towards the Pilot credit time limit.

Pilots may be scheduled for standby duties as per B1-36.7.2 above for minimum 1 day and maximum 4 days consecutively for no more than 5 times per calendar year. A Pilot cannot be scheduled for more than 7 standby days in a roster period.

Let’s have a look at the definitions first:

Standby is defined in Part III of the CWA as “Means a pre-notified and defined period of time during which a Pilot is required by the Company to be available to receive an assignment for a flight, positioning or other duty without an intervening rest period, as follows:
(a) “Airport Standby” means a standby performed at the airport or any other location defined by the Company with the exception of Standby away from Home Base
(b) “Other Standby” means a standby either at home or in a suitable accommodation.”

Reserve is defined as “Means a period of time during which a Pilot is required by the operator to be available to receive an assignment for an FDP, positioning or other duty notified at least 18 hours in advance.”

Accommodation is defined as “Means, for the purpose of standby and split duty, a quiet and comfortable place not open to the public with the ability to control light and temperature, equipped with adequate furniture that provides a Pilot with the possibility to sleep, with enough capacity to accommodate all Pilots present at the same time and with access to food and drink.”

Suitable Accommodation is defined as “Means, for the purpose of standby, split duty, and rest, a separate Hotel room for each Pilot located in a quiet environment and equipped with a bed, which is sufficiently ventilated, has a device for regulating temperature and light intensity, and access to food and drink.“

It can be summarized, that in case of Home Base Airport standby:

• A maximum of 3 times per year a pilot can be scheduled for airport standby, which is limited to not more than 2 consecutive days
• Airport standby must be clearly indicated in the roster
• The maximum duration is 8 hours and shall count full as Duty Period
• The pilot must be reachable during these times
• Accommodation must be provided
• If no FDP is assigned, airport standby is followed by a Rest Period
• Notification time (from the phone call until reporting time) is minimum 30 minutes
• If a FDP starts during airport standby, the maximum FDP is reduced by any time spent on airport standby in excess of 4 hours
• The maximum combined duration of airport standby and a FDP is 16 hours, except if the flight crew is augmented or in case of split duty.

Standby other than airport standby can be summarized as follows:

• Maximum of 5 times a year, between 1 and 4 consecutive days with not more than 7 standby days in one roster
• Standby duty must be clearly indicated in the roster
• Maximum duration is 8 hours and 25% of the time will be counted for the purpose of Flight Times and Duty Periods limitations (B1-36.1.2)
• A minimum of 8 hours per day is counted towards the pilot credit time limit (B1-39.5.1)
• Standby is followed by a Rest Period
• The pilot must be reachable during these times
• Notification time (from the phone call until reporting time) is minimum 2 hours
• If standby away from Home Base, suitable accommodation must be provided
• The maximum combined duration of standby and a FDP is 18 hours
• Standby ceases when reporting at the designated reporting point
• If standby ceases within the first 6 hours, the maximum FDP counts from reporting
• If standby ceases after the first 6 hours, the maximum FDP is reduced by the amount of standby time exceeding 6 hours
• If the flight crew is augmented or in case of split duty, the 6 hours above are extended to 8 hours.

Please refer to the previously distributed issue of this series “When do I need to be contactable” for more details regarding when you have to be reachable. This issue, like all other issues, is also available at www.alpl.lu.

B1-36.8 Reserve
B1-36.8.1 The following provisions apply to Pilots assigned to reserve duties:

• Reserve is the period of time during which the Pilot is required to be available and contactable to receive an assignment for an FDP, positioning or other duty. Reserve periods are indicated on the roster.
• The maximum number of consecutive reserve days is 7.
• The maximum duration of any single reserve period is 8 hours per reserve day.
• Before each period of reserve a minimum of an 8-hours uninterrupted rest is scheduled.
• An assigned FDP counts from the reporting time.
• Reserve times do not count as duty period for the purpose of rest requirements or flight times and duty periods limitations, but shall be

Pilots may be scheduled for reserve duty on days which are unschedulable or in lieu of a duty from which the pilot is de-assigned.

Reserve 1 is scheduled from 06:00 to 14:00 CET
Reserve 2 is scheduled from 12:00 to 20:00 CET
Reserve 3 is scheduled from 16:00 to 24:00 CET

Reserve in a roster implies that a reserve period, which does not result in a duty period, may not be retrospectively considered as part of a recurrent extended recovery rest period.

During Reserve, a minimum of 8 hours per day is counted towards the Pilot credit time limit. The minimum time between notification during a reserve duty and start of the duty notified is 18 hours.

In case of Reserve, the following is applicable:

• Maximum number of consecutive RES days is 7
• Maximum 8 hours per day
• RES must be clearly indicated in the roster
• The pilot must be reachable during these times
• Notification time (from the phone call until reporting time) is minimum 18 hours
• An assigned FDP counts from reporting time
• RES does not count for the purpose of Flight Times and Duty Periods limitations (B1-36.1.2)
• 8 hours per day are counted towards the pilot credit time limit (B1-39.5.1)
• Any RES that does not result in a Duty Period may not be considered as part of recurrent extended recovery rest period.

Please refer to the previously distributed issue of this series “When do I need to be contactable” for details regarding when you have to be contactable during Reserve (RES), which is also available on www.alpl.lu.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

Please find below an update on Rostering, CWA, Back to Back (B2B) rotations and the Vacation bidding process.

Rostering
Most of you certainly do experience the effects of the disruptive rostering which has not abated since the high season began in September 2016. With the imminent high season in 2017 approaching and still not having enough crews to cover the flights, the impact on fatigue will potentially cause additional delays due to the requirement for you as crew to have additional recovery time.

We ask you to assess every FDP in regards to fatigue and once again would like to remind you that every pilot suffering or potentially suffering from fatigue must file a Fatigue Report whether it is reactive or proactive.

Proactive fatigue reports should be written if you advise crew control that you need additional rest due to delays or changes in rotations that are disruptive that may potentially impact your next duty or series of duties. If you need guidance, please send an email to cvboard@alpl.lu.

If you do send a delay request to crewcontrol@cargolux.com, please copy in the station, which you are departing from; e.g. IAH, iahops@cargolux.com and opscrtl@cargolux.com (Dispatch) so they are able to coordinate.

Please use the iQSMS or the LEAF applications to submit reports, both are provided on your iPad. When entering the data be as accurate and as complete as possible. You can click here for additional guidance.

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.

CWA
You might also have recognized the launch of the second edition of our series “Know your CWA” in June. The intention of this series is to make you familiar with your CWA and to give you a better understanding of the most important articles in this document.

Knowing the content and limitations herein certainly will help you to be aware of your rights and obligations and also when checking your roster for compliance. After all, the CWA is one tool to protect your health and a guideline for you when duties or rest periods are scheduled in a questionable way. Use it!

Back to Back (B2B) Rotations
The recent email from the Chief Pilot’s Office on “Clarification on back to back rotations” has not clarified the situation. If the authority has confirmed that Cargolux Flight operations is compliant with the regulations, the minimum that we could expect is this information is made transparent.

Knowing that the DAC-L is the authority in Luxembourg that oversees the regulations, we can only assume that a letter or call to EASA has or has not been made, which ultimately delays the correct application of the B2B.

As the ALPL, our request for clarification has still not been answered. You can draw your own conclusions why this has not happened.

Please see attached our guidelines. If you have been confronted with B2B, which has not been planned in advance email us on cvboard@alpl.lu so we can provide you with  further assistance.

Vacation Bidding
The vacation bidding was launched a little later than normal as all stakeholders were finalizing the documents. In general only minor changes in the two step bidding process were made such as increasing the first round to 25 days, you can bid as low as 3 vacation block days, and that each pilot can maintain 5 vacation days in a ‘pool’ if they wish for an indefinite period of time.

After the unilateral allocation of outstanding vacation days, which occurred in January this year, it became obvious that a procedure to reduce outstanding vacation days is necessary to handle it correctly.

There a some pilots who are owed vacation days and this will be reduced to a maximum of 5 days over the next 5 years. Again, only by mutual consent.

The deadline for the first round of the vacation bidding is on 01 September 2017.

In part 11 of our series “Know your CWA” we would like to expand on when a pilot has to be contactable as per CWA.

According to the CWA a pilot must only be reachable during Standby (SBY) and Reserve (RES) as defined in CWA Art. B1-36.7 and B1-36.8 respectively.

In addition the CWA contains an article, CWA B1-37.4, which requires the pilot to check his or her roster for changes during certain times.

During all other times a pilot is not required to be contactable. It is solely up to the pilot to decide if he answers a phone call, checks his company provided email account or to access AIMS eCrew, any voice mailbox for messages or if SMS text messages have been received.

B1-36.7 Standby
B1-36.7.1 Home Base Airport standby
The following applies to Pilots on airport standby:
• Airport standby shall be in the roster and the start and end time of airport standby shall be defined and notified in advance to the Pilots concerned to provide them with the opportunity to plan adequate rest.
• The maximum duration of airport standby is 8 hours.
[…]
[…]
[…]
• The Pilot has to be reachable by phone during Standby.
Limitation for airport standby in addition to any other standby will be 3 times per year and no more than 2 consecutive days.
 
B1-36.7.2 Standby other than airport standby
The following applies to Pilots on standby other than airport standby:
• The maximum duration of standby other than airport standby is 8 hours.
[…]
[…]
• The Pilot has to be reachable by phone during Standby.
[…]
• The exact hours that the Pilot is required to be on Standby duty will appear on his Roster.
[…]

Pilots may be scheduled for standby duties as per B1-36.7.2 above for minimum 1 day and maximum 4 days consecutively for no more than 5 times per calendar year. A Pilot cannot be scheduled for more than 7 standby days in a roster period.

According to B1-36.7 a pilot on Standby, whether during “Home Base airport standby” or “Standby other than airport standby”, must be reachable by phone during the exact hours indicated on his roster.

Outside the times indicated as SBY on this roster, the pilot has:

• no obligation to be reachable by phone
• nor is there an obligation to check emails, AIMS eCrew, any voice mailbox for messages or if SMS text messages have been received.

Example:
The following depicts a roster with a “Standby other than airport standby” as per CWA B1-36.7.2:

The pilot has to be contactable by phone on each of the indicated days between 11.00 UTC and 19.00 UTC. Outside of these hours the pilot has no obligation to be contactable.

B1-36.8 Reserve
B1-36.8.1 The following provisions apply to Pilots assigned to reserve duties:
• Reserve is the period of time during which the Pilot is required to be available and contactable to receive an assignment for an FDP, positioning or other duty. Reserve periods are indicated on the roster.
[…]
• The maximum duration of any single reserve period is 8 hours per reserve day.
[…]
[…]
 
Pilots may be scheduled for reserve duty on days which are unschedulable or in lieu of a duty from which the pilot is de-assigned.
 
Reserve 1 is scheduled from 06:00 to 14:00 CET
Reserve 2 is scheduled from 12:00 to 20:00 CET
Reserve 3 is scheduled from 16:00 to 24:00 CET
 
Reserve in a roster implies that a reserve period, which does not result in a duty period, may not be retrospectively considered as part of a recurrent extended recovery rest period.
 
During Reserve, a minimum of 8 hours per day is counted towards the Pilot credit time limit. The minimum time between notification during a reserve duty and start of the duty notified is 18 hours.

According to article B1-36.8.1 a pilot can be scheduled for 3 different Reserve Duties – RES1, RES2 or RES 3. During Reserve (RES) a pilot must be reachable only during the following times:

• When scheduled for RES 1 from 06:00 to 14:00 local time in Luxembourg
• When scheduled for RES 2 from 12:00 to 20:00 local time in Luxembourg
• When scheduled for RES 3 from 16:00 to 24:00 local time in Luxembourg

The pilot has no obligation to be reachable outside of these times.

Example:
The following depicts a roster with Reserve (RES) as per CWA Art. B1-36.8.1:

The pilot has to be contactable by phone on each of the indicated days between 04:00 UTC and 12:00 UTC. Outside of these hours the pilot has no obligation to be contactable.

B1-37.4 Changes to Rosters
Pilots shall inform themselves of their duty assignments between 18 and 12 hours prior to the ending of unassigned time, COD, FOD, Sickness or Vacation time period and acknowledge the assignment to crew control.

According to this article each pilot is obliged to check the roster once between 06:00 and 12:00 local time in Luxembourg for any changes to his roster during following times:

• On the last blank day (unassigned time)
• On the last FOD
• On the last COD
• On the last vacation day and
• On the last sick day.

During all other times, e.g. Rest (which is assigned as indicated on the roster), the pilot has no obligation to check the roster for any changes.

We will expand in more detail on Standby and Reserve in the next issue of this series.

Please follow this link to download your copy of the CWA for your perusal on the company provided iPad or any other computer for future reference.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us at cvboard@alpl.lu for clarification.

All parts of this series can be found here in the Publications section under Cargolux Board.

Part of the new CWA 2015-2018 is the Pilot Off-Day Pool (CWA 5.3.1). Although already established in 2014 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), it is now for the first time written in the CWA with the purpose to ensure adequate resources for Pilot Representatives and individual nominated pilots for representative work.

For 2017 our members donated 53 days. Please find below a brief update on how many days have been requested or used until now and for which purpose. It is our intention to stay transparent in what we do and to show you, that your donation is a valuable contribution, which indeed assists us in our work. Thank you for that!

In order to be able to continue to participate in working groups or committees and to have enough POD at hand in the future we would like to invite you to donate one or more of your VAC days for 2018 to the Pilot Off- Day Pool to top it up again.

Like in the past the donation of VAC days is on a voluntary basis and the details how the Pilot Off- Day Pool is managed are outlined in the “Agreed Off-Day-Pool Procedure”.

We sincerely hope that this solution is acceptable for those wishing to help, support and participate. Please do not hesitate to contact your ALPL Board at cvboard@alpl.lu in case you have any questions.

Please click on the button below in case you would like to donate.

Thank you for your participation!