CRAF
02-12-2019, 01:53 PM
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2013
Position: No Hats No Jackets No PAX
Posts: 1,493
Forced to fly our military in/out of countries, etc. whaaaat? Oh, I didn’t see the box to uncheck as I do that now routinely and it ain’t CRAF of course. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Always enjoy chauffeuring around our boys & girls in arms around the world. New generation of dreamers, what a cluster...
02-12-2019, 05:13 PM
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,258
Originally Posted by joepilot
At my airline you used to have to opt in. Then for awhile it was opt out.
Another item, not all airplanes at each airline are necessarily part of the CRAF fleet.
Generally, this is decided at the time the airline acquires the aircraft. The military generally wants certain things that an airline would frequently omit from an aircraft order, such as strengthened floors and possibly heavier gross weight, that would not be practical to install later. In general the USAF pays a negotiated fee up front for these modifications on the assembly line, and an ongoing fuel surcharge to compensate the airline for the increased fuel consumption from the higher empty weight.
Some aircraft, particularly those acquired used from a foreign airline may not meet the military's needs, and thus would be excluded from the CRAF.
When the military decides that it needs to activate CRAF, then the military has control of those aircraft. In general the military prefers that the usual airline pilots fly their company's planes. If, however, the company cannot produce enough pilots willing and able to fly the flights that the military wants flown, then the military can use any pilots that they choose. They could even assign Delta 737s to American to fly, if American has enough surplus pilots.
As far as I know, actual CRAF has never been invoked, but the threat is always there, so the airlines are quite happy to charter planes to the military.
The military does a great deal of chartering airliners. Many pilots referred to charters flying into Kuwait and Afghanistan supporting the military as CRAF flying, but it was not. It was just "normal" charter work.
Joe
Another item, not all airplanes at each airline are necessarily part of the CRAF fleet.
Generally, this is decided at the time the airline acquires the aircraft. The military generally wants certain things that an airline would frequently omit from an aircraft order, such as strengthened floors and possibly heavier gross weight, that would not be practical to install later. In general the USAF pays a negotiated fee up front for these modifications on the assembly line, and an ongoing fuel surcharge to compensate the airline for the increased fuel consumption from the higher empty weight.
Some aircraft, particularly those acquired used from a foreign airline may not meet the military's needs, and thus would be excluded from the CRAF.
When the military decides that it needs to activate CRAF, then the military has control of those aircraft. In general the military prefers that the usual airline pilots fly their company's planes. If, however, the company cannot produce enough pilots willing and able to fly the flights that the military wants flown, then the military can use any pilots that they choose. They could even assign Delta 737s to American to fly, if American has enough surplus pilots.
As far as I know, actual CRAF has never been invoked, but the threat is always there, so the airlines are quite happy to charter planes to the military.
The military does a great deal of chartering airliners. Many pilots referred to charters flying into Kuwait and Afghanistan supporting the military as CRAF flying, but it was not. It was just "normal" charter work.
Joe
02-13-2019, 02:57 PM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,258
Originally Posted by badflaps
Didn't DAL fly a couple of troop trips? Maybe just charter.
02-14-2019, 07:41 AM
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Position: Leftof longitudinal
Posts: 1,899
Facts from a 2008 Report to Congress: (This info is still current on activations):
Three stages of incremental activation allow for tailoring an airlift force suitable
for the contingency at hand.11 The stages of activation are as follows:
Stage I — minor regional crises.
Stage II — major theater war.
Stage III — periods of national mobilization.
The commander, U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), with approval
of the Secretary of Defense, is the activation authority for all three stages of CRAF.
During a crisis, if the Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) has a need for
additional aircraft, it would request the TRANSCOM commander to take steps to
activate the appropriate CRAF stage. Each stage of the CRAF activation is only used
to the extent necessary to provide the amount of civil augmentation airlift needed by
DOD. When notified of call-up, the carrier response time to have its aircraft ready for
a CRAF mission is 24 to 48 hours after the mission is assigned by AMC.
The air
carriers continue to operate and maintain the aircraft with their resources; however,
AMC controls the aircraft missions.
CRAF has been formally activated on two separate occasions over the
program’s 57-year history.
The first instance occurred for Operations Desert
Shield/Storm from August 18, 1990, through May 24, 1991, and included long-range
international passenger and cargo segments up to Stage II. During Operation Desert
Storm, CRAF airlines executed 5,460 missions transporting 726,000 passengers and
230,000 tons of cargo at a cost of $1.4 billion.
The second activation, during
Operation Iraqi Freedom, lasted from February 8, 2003 through June 18, 2003, and
included the long-range international passenger segment up to Stage 1 — long-range
cargo requirements were met organically or with voluntary commercial contracts.
__________________________________________________ ___________
Typically, buried in the employment requirements one signs on new hire day, is that you accept being a CRAF pilot volunteer for your airline. If you happen to be on the fleet that is enrolled in CRAF at your company, your subject flying CRAF. Check your contract
Three stages of incremental activation allow for tailoring an airlift force suitable
for the contingency at hand.11 The stages of activation are as follows:
Stage I — minor regional crises.
Stage II — major theater war.
Stage III — periods of national mobilization.
The commander, U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), with approval
of the Secretary of Defense, is the activation authority for all three stages of CRAF.
During a crisis, if the Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) has a need for
additional aircraft, it would request the TRANSCOM commander to take steps to
activate the appropriate CRAF stage. Each stage of the CRAF activation is only used
to the extent necessary to provide the amount of civil augmentation airlift needed by
DOD. When notified of call-up, the carrier response time to have its aircraft ready for
a CRAF mission is 24 to 48 hours after the mission is assigned by AMC.
The air
carriers continue to operate and maintain the aircraft with their resources; however,
AMC controls the aircraft missions.
CRAF has been formally activated on two separate occasions over the
program’s 57-year history.
The first instance occurred for Operations Desert
Shield/Storm from August 18, 1990, through May 24, 1991, and included long-range
international passenger and cargo segments up to Stage II. During Operation Desert
Storm, CRAF airlines executed 5,460 missions transporting 726,000 passengers and
230,000 tons of cargo at a cost of $1.4 billion.
The second activation, during
Operation Iraqi Freedom, lasted from February 8, 2003 through June 18, 2003, and
included the long-range international passenger segment up to Stage 1 — long-range
cargo requirements were met organically or with voluntary commercial contracts.
__________________________________________________ ___________
Typically, buried in the employment requirements one signs on new hire day, is that you accept being a CRAF pilot volunteer for your airline. If you happen to be on the fleet that is enrolled in CRAF at your company, your subject flying CRAF. Check your contract
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