Well, I have not posted anything new for quite awhile, although there are many thoughts running in that small brain of mine (yes, I am amazed, the last I check, I had one :P). And I should be really doing my work at this moment, but I guess it is time that I ask this question to you people out there!!!

Do you think a commercial pilot should stick to wearing those peak caps and ties even in our hot and humid weather?! If, one day, you suddenly see a new uniform, an airline whose pilots are not in the ‘traditional’ uniform i.e. cap, white shirt, tie, black/navy blue pants, but with something more casual (just imagine the present Air Asia pilot uniform – which is the industry standard - minus the tie and cap), would you think that the pilots are less professional?
Tell me your thoughts and I will share with you mine :P

Cheers,
Dom.

Recently a question was raised as to how long flight crew work a day. Well I guess it would therefore be justifiable to write the following…

Firstly, let me explain that all pilot licence holders are bound by regulations not to fly when affected by fatigue. As a professional pilot licence holder, we do have the privilege of calling in sick when we are really not fit to fly. In training school, we are taught Human Performance and Limitations, which is in essence a crash course for a Medical Degree!

As an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holder, the airline is responsible for guidelines known as Flight Time Limitation (FTL) scheme for its crewmembers to avoid fatigue and thus ensuring crew are well rested prior to each flight duty. As a guide, the Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 371 issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom is the document most airlines adhere to. The CAP 371 was published after much study was made with regards to fatigue in flight crew. It provides a set of work pattern for flight crews and flight attendants designed to prevent the onset of fatigue. From the CAP 371, airlines then work out a set of working patterns.

Factors affecting our working hours include the number of sectors (flights) we do that particular day, as well as the reporting time of that particular day. From there, there is a something called ‘earned rest’ whereby the crewmembers must be given this rest period before the onset of the next duty period. Confused yet? 



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Well, I have been asked many times by various people the following "Is it safe ah? Low cost you know? I heard the maintenance all ah, so so only". And in one of the blogs, someone asked "Eh, I heard even the baggage handler can be pilot, how can? I hope they get only the good people lar"

So, what do you think? Having flown for the national airline, national cargo carrier, and now with my life in the Asian Budget Airline of the year 2008, I can safely say one thing - only the business model is low cost lar!

To start an airline, one must first obtain an AOC - Air Operator Certificate which is issued by the respective Civil Aviation Authorities. All airline operators, cargo, passenger, low cost, HIGH cost have to meet the same rigid requirements before such a certificate is issued. Operators must meet rigid maintenance practices, flight crew training, and other safety aspects before obtaining such a certificate.

The aircraft maintenance engineers and pilots hold the same professional license as issued by the same Civil Aviation Authority - there is NO LOW COST LICENSE!!! The flight attendants also have to go through the same training as those in the full fledge airlines. In fact, having been through the training where I am now, I realize that being a low cost carrier, we are under the spotlight most of the time as the civil aviation authority does not want us to cut corners where training is concerned, with that, I have to say, somehow, we are more thorough with our training for the engineers, pilots, as well as flight attendants.

For those of you who are worried that we are taking in everyone to fly - bear in mind, to obtain a professional pilot license, the local authorities do have their own criteria - and again, there is only one professional pilot license - there is NO LOW COST CREW!!! The guy who made it as a pilot met all the academic requirements - we are not that LOW COST lar :P

So there you go - the business model is low cost (I would prefer to say, cost effective), but the safety aspect is NOT as there is no LOW COST to safety. If you want to know what low cost business model is - visit Tony's blog:)

Flying commercial since 1992...