Page 112 - Beginner's Guide to Aviation

FLIGHT OPERATIONS
4. Flight Crew Scheduling Department What do they do?
- Plan and create timetables for all flight crew to achieve the maximum utilization and availability for each flight
- Assign crew to each published flight. Done through two parts which are Crew Pairing and Crew Rostering
- Ensure compliance with flight time limitations, monitor crew flying hours, monitor flight crew medical / license validity
- Ensure crew members are adequately rested at the start of each flying duty period
- Considerations and information that help in assigning include
rest and flight duty time limitations, experience in aircraft type, pilot currency requirements, scheduled day/ time off and annual leave, personal preference where possible
NOTE:
Flight Duty Time Limitations just means the maximum number of hours a crew member can work.
The limitation is set by the airline and its CAA and varies for different airlines.
FUN FACT:
Not only do crew members need to be assigned to a flight, aircraft too! This is known as Fleet Assignment and it refers to assigning a particular aircraft to a particular flight.
Some considerations to help in assigning include the seating capacity, passenger demand and the aircraft capability. Be careful not to confuse this with Fleet Planning (as learnt in Chapter 5)!
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