CC6722/FC5376(C)

CC6722 Commercial Pressure

We have an SOP whereby pax are released on first-wave flights automatically without crew consent. Years ago, our report time was -60 and in the countdown to departure, we were allocated 10 minutes to brief, 10 minutes to reach the aircraft and 10 minutes to do our pre-flight checks (PFC) and searches. There was then a push for briefing onboard rather than in the crew room, but the crew still left the crew room together as a team and therefore could chat on the way to start building up CRM. There was then a gradual shift to “report to aircraft”, meaning crew would arrive individually, and now ALL of our flights are report to aircraft, meaning we don’t meet each other until we are onboard or at the gate. Report time was -60, we were told to be onboard the aircraft by -45 at the latest and green light boarding (GLB) was moved to-30 rather than -25. We therefore had 5 minutes less, in practice, to do everything we previously had 20 minutes to achieve, and nothing substantial had changed in the briefing structure or our checks onboard. A thorough and compliant security search, along with PFCs on equipment takes just under 10 minutes, if not longer, depending on the experience of the crew (at our base, the biggest in the network, we have a lot of inexperienced cabin crew.) This therefore leaves 5 minutes for the combined briefing between flight crew and cabin crew. We also have to allow time for the HUMAN FACTOR in what we do – saying hello to each other, building rapport etc rather than just diving right into formalities. The company seemingly does not see things this way.

GLB in other bases is achievable given the infrastructure of the smaller airports. If at security at -60, in some bases the crew can be onboard by -55, allowing them 25 minutes before GLB. In our base, which is a huge airport, it sometimes takes 15 minutes (or longer) to clear security and walk to the gate. There is therefore even less time to brief and do our checks. As a trial for the summer, we were being asked to report at -75. I had thought, naively, that GLB time would either remain at -30 or at least be moved to -40, but it is in fact now -45. Meaning we are being asked to report earlier, but are being given no extra time to achieve everything we need to prepare the cabin for pax. When report time was -60 and GLB was -30, the target was often met through the goodwill of the crew reporting earlier than -60 (which is obviously not reflected in our Flight duty period). Now that report time is -75, GLB is consistently not being achieved, and the blame placed squarely at the feet of the cabin crew.

I strongly believe this is because the crew’s goodwill has run out and they are no longer prepared to report earlier in order to achieve the unachievable. In response, the company has sent a barrage of emails, which I would describe as textbook commercial pressure, some quite threatening in tone. Any SCCM who does not achieve GLB will have a meeting placed on their roster. The company says the meetings are non-punitive, but are they really? An incentive was started in which crew could win a prize if GLB was achieved. And most worryingly of all, we were told that cabin crew could choose their own working positions on arrival at the aircraft if the SCCM was not yet there, and start their checks. This contradicts our briefing procedure which states that positions should be “discussed based on crew preference”. If one cabin crew member arrives at -70, the next arrives at -65 and the last arrives at -60, that last cabin crew member gets no say in where they work, even though they are not late. This is grossly unfair. The company is incentivising crew to report early in order to get their choice of working position and also potentially cut corners/skip part of a briefing in order to a win a prize. This is all smoke and mirrors to distract from the fact that they are simply not giving us enough time. Instead of giving us more time, they send threatening emails and tempt us with winning prizes.

FC5376 Commercial pressure 

Green light boarding is a term used within the company to start boarding at or before a certain time. It has had a lot of focus, and it seems the company believe delayed boarding is the root cause of delay. In order to achieve Green Light Boarding, it has for a while been linked to the cabin crew performance bonus. To start boarding, the cabin needs to be ready and more importantly safety and security checks needs to be completed. To put these procedures under time pressure is not good practice. Recently, boarding automatically start at a certain time. That means, unless the crew actively tells the ground staff to hold the boarding, passengers will start coming up the steps at a given time. This adds more pressure on the cabin crew. It is escalated further by management contacting cabin crew directly, when Green Line Boarding is not met. Sometimes before they have finished their duty. They are asked to explain why the target wasn’t met. When there is so much time pressure how is anyone meant to know why things are 2 or 5 minutes delayed. My experience lately is that some SCCMs are trying to cut corners in order to achieve the targets. We always have a briefing when the day starts. The whole crew gets a chance to greet each other, and discuss what is expected of the day. It builds the team, and is often a good chance to highlight any potential issues. On two occasions over the last weeks, SCCM have tried to skip the briefing with the entire crew. When I insist, they immediately mention concerns that we are meant to start boarding imminently. It is obvious to me the cabin crew are under pressure.