said Lara.“That’s why giving pilots more control over their scheduling and being cognizant of their worklife needs is now a top priority.” And while it can be challenging for typical Part 91 and Part 135 flight operations to meet the varied professional/personal scheduling needs of its pilots, try doing it for an operation that specializes in the life-and-death business of moving donor organs for transplants. “We have 18 aircraft and 65 pilots, and more than half of our fleet is dedicated to transporting donor organs, so it’s a pretty demanding business,” Knox explained. “We fly a lot on the backside of the clock, and obviously, pilot scheduling and aircraft availability are critical. “For example, with our [Bombardier] Challenger 300s, the crew works two weeks on, and off for one week,” she continued.“It’s a very set schedule for the most part, and that week off is ‘protected’ time off. They can’t be called in for any reason. “It’s a huge challenge for us to coordinate everyone, and we try to be proactive in making the schedule as far in advance as we can,” Knox said.“We typically let the crews know by the 15th of the month prior so they can make their plans.” Another thing Knox stressed was the company’s commitment to meeting the needs of its many managed aircraft clients. While the crew scheduling may not be as rigid as with their medical flights, the M&N Aviation schedulers work hard to keep the aircraft’s owners apprised of the availability of their pilots, so they can schedule their travels to avoid any interruptions. ENCOURAGE ‘OPEN GIVE-AND-TAKE’ Although many operators still base vacation scheduling on seniority, our experts agree that this is not the best model to use in today’s world. “We work with lots of flight departments, and the best operations do this kind of scheduling on a collaborative basis,” Lara said.“They get all the pilots together in early November and tell them there will be a scheduling meeting in December to set next year’s vacation schedules. “They can get with their families and figure out what time they want off next year and then come back together and figure out what works,” he said.“If there’s open give-and-take among the pilots, then things go much smoother. If any bargaining needs to be done, everyone is involved in the process. The important thing is it’s not the boss dictating who gets what.” SATISFACTION GUARANTEED: BIZAV PILOTS ARE GETTING SCHEDULED DAYS OFF—CONT. OPENING LINES 17 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 05, ISSUE 04
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