Dear Teammates:
On January 4, 2014, the FAA will implement FAR 117, a significant change to the rules governing pilot scheduling. This new regulation is in response to the February, 2009 Colgan Air accident near Buffalo, New York. Following the investigation, the NTSB found that pilot fatigue was likely a factor in the accident. As a result, the FAA has changed pilot flight and duty regulations to help create a safer environment for air travel. Pilot scheduling will now depend on many new factors that were not specifically considered before.
While the new regulations are pilot specific, and will not directly affect our ITMs, they will fundamentally impact the way we run much of our operation. To tackle these issues we have assembled an internal project team that has been looking at every aspect of the rule. Safety, Flight Operations, CSS, Guest Services, Inflight, IT, People and Scheduling have all been involved in the process. SABRE is finalizing programing changes to track the new FAR so we can assure pilots are assigned (and reassigned) legally.
We have been proactive externally, too. Last month we attended an industry conference on pilot scheduling, and met with 12 other U.S. Part 121 carriers to answer each other’s questions and collect clarifying questions to submit to the FAA. We will continue to work in the coming weeks and months to ensure we are fully prepared for this change.
FAR 117 will require increased pilot hiring at Virgin and across the U.S. industry. We’ll determine the exact number of new hires after a bit more modeling and analysis, and pass that information on to you.
As always, we remain 100% committed to working with our Committees during this change. We will continue our tradition of developing the best, most efficient, and most reliable schedules possible under the constraints of the new rules.
As we get closer to January 4, please look for continued communication from us on this important issue.
Steve
Steve Forte
Chief Operating Officer| Virgin America
Office (650) 645-5700 |
555 Airport Boulevard | Burlingame, California 94010