Although ALPA experts have been reviewing the rule and receiving feedback from members since the FAA unveiled the NPRM on September 16, the next step in the process is a thorough review of the proposed rules by the Flight Time/Duty Time Committee (FTDT) and ALPA representatives to the FAA’s 2009 Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). The committee will evaluate how its recommendations during ARC proceedings were captured in regulatory language and compare the NPRM with current ALPA policy. This step will occur during the first week of October, and will conclude with ALPA’s written response to the NPRM, which is due November 15, 2010.

While the analysis of and comment on the NPRM is pending, a few components of the NPRM deserve an initial explanation to put the entire NPRM in the proper context. Outlining these components for you today does not imply ALPA’s agreement or disagreement with the NPRM in any way. That process will be completed soon and will be guided by ALPA policy. This is provided to give you a glimpse of how some elements of the NPRM are interwoven.

In this FastRead, we will look at

• the proposed § 117.15 Table Flight Duty Period: Un-augmented Operations, specifically the application of the table;
• the proposed § 117.13 Flight time limitation and how it differs from the current FAR;
• the proposed § 117.25 Rest period and how it differs from the current FAR; and
• the relationship of the proposed FAR and current collective bargaining agreements.

The proposed § 117.15 Table Flight Duty Period: Un-augmented Operations (Table B)

Let us start with the table itself and how it differs from the current FAR.

One of the most misunderstood aspects when using Table B is where to enter the table itself. It is important to enter the Time of Start column using your home base (domicile) time unless you are acclimated to another time zone. For the vast majority of cases, your home base time zone will be used. Most errors in the application of the table occur when you are applying the table after an international flight segment and beginning a new FDP.

Let’s look at a practical application. The first example is a flight flown from JFK to Madrid. Using the trip description, you can see that the report time is 1620. That time should be used to determine the allowable FDP and flight time:

Key points:

• Remember to enter the table with your report time, not your departure time.
• Both the FDP and flight time limit control. If either is exceeded, augmentation is required.

Now, let’s look at the return flight. In this case the report time is 0240 JFK time, based on a 90-minute report before a 0410 departure, also converted to JFK time (90 minutes report in this example is contractual for this carrier):

Key points:

• Ensure that you enter the table with the report time, based on home base time (domicile), both for FDP and allowable flight time limitations.
• In this example, entering with MAD time instead of JFK time would result in an allowable FDP of 12 and allowable flight time of 9 not requiring augmentation, and would be an incorrect use of the FDP and Flight Time Tables (Tables A and B).

How the proposed § 117.13 Flight time limitation table differs from the current FAR § 117.13 Flight time limitation

No certificate holder may schedule and no flightcrew member may accept an assignment or continue an assigned flight duty period if the total flight time:

(a) Will exceed the limits specified in Table A of this part if the operation is conducted with the minimum required flightcrew.

Besides the actual changes in the allowable flight time per flight duty period, the proposed FAR is no longer just a scheduling rule, but also an actual flight time per duty period rule.

The proposed § 117.25 Rest period and how it differs from the current FAR

§ 117.25 (d) No certificate holder may schedule and no flightcrew member may accept an assignment for reserve or a flight duty period unless the flightcrew member is given a rest period of at least 9 consecutive hours before beginning the reserve or flight duty period measured from the time the flightcrew member reaches the hotel or other suitable accommodation.

The most significant change in the proposed FAR concerning rest is that it is measured from the time you reach the place of rest. Effectively, it appears the FAA will no longer deal with the concept of “transportation local in nature.” Today, as we know, the rest period is measured from release from duty to report for duty and includes travel time to a local hotel. The basis of the ARC participants’ minimum rest period recommendation was to allow for an eight-hour sleep opportunity, and the committee will analyze the FAA’s proposed rule against that and ALPA policy.

The relationship of the proposed FAR and current collective bargaining agreements

One question we have been asked is how any FAR change would interact with a collective bargaining agreement section. The bottom line is this—upon implementation, if the FAR is more restrictive, it will control. If the contractual provision is more restrictive, it will control, just as it does today. As you can imagine, there could be the need for some negotiations on work rule and/or scheduling rule provisions at many airlines.

The next steps

As mentioned above, the FTDT Committee and ALPA ARC participants will submit our comments to the FAA by the November 15th deadline. The basis for comment will be ALPA policy. Once again, outlining these components for you today does not imply ALPA’s agreement or disagreement with the NPRM in any way. As we learn more about the NPRM, we will update you on that information as well as the final comment to the FAA.

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