Of course, while long-range negotiations may work very well for planned time off, life doesn’t follow that kind of scripting. So, scheduled vacation time and “days off” need to be viewed in a different light. It’s also essential to keep the parent company’s management informed regarding pilot and aircraft availability, especially when working around the FAA’s mandates for pilot rest. “A pilot may be ‘home’ for a few days, but that doesn’t always impact the regulatory requirement for ‘days off’ before flying again,” Knox said.“It can be hard to make everyone understand that a ‘day off’ is only a ‘day off’ if you know it is coming.” DEALING WITH SURPRISES Business aviation is nothing if not built on flexibility, and that goes double for the need to seamlessly react to the inevitable phone call from a pilot saying they “can’t fly today”– for whatever reason. “Unexpected time off needs happen to everyone,” Knox said. “Pilots get sick. Doctors’ appointments change. Family issues happen. All kinds of things come up, and we try to work with our pilots the best we can.” And while the solution is most likely to come from another pilot on your staff filling that last-minute, left-seat need, there are times when you will need to bring in a contract pilot. “What we see in the top-tier flight departments is that they’ve planned for this need in their yearly budgeting and pre-authorizations, so there’s no scrambling at the last minute and risk of canceling the flight,” Lara explained.“You need to make these planned actions, not reactions to the need.” Effectively solving these kinds of unexpected situations is the result of planning and ongoing communication between everyone – from the flight crew to maintenance to schedulers to the CEO’s executive assistant, who are all involved on a continual basis, said Lara. “Building good relationships with the pilots and the aircraft owner’s assistant is key,” Knox said.“They both need to understand that the scheduler is trying to find a solution that works for everyone. It’s not about disrespecting the personal needs of the pilots; it’s about providing a travel resolution that works for everyone.” “The entire team must work together to coordinate pilot time off, aircraft maintenance or anything that impacts aircraft availability so that it has minimal impact on the executive team’s ability to travel,” said Lara. “While our business is always evolving, ensuring that the aircraft owner’s travel needs are met is the one part of business aviation that will never change.” 18 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 05, ISSUE 04
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