Third Man in the Cockpit Being Phased Out With Old Planes
January 31, 1999 - 0:0
HAMBURG Be it British Airways, Swissair, Air France or other airlines, they all face the same problem over the long run: what to do with the third man the flight engineer? The more modern airlines' fleets become, all the more quickly do these highly-qualified men and women become redundant, because their computer colleague is cheaper and more efficient. Pilots' Associations, which long fought against the modern two-man cockpit, now must accept that the flight engineers, over the long run, must irrevocably have to take their leave.
The longest tenure still awaits those flight engineers at Air France. They will keep their jobs until around the year 2010 as long as the supersonic jet Concorde, which needs flight engineers, remains in operation. Air France still has around 360 flight engineers, more than most of the world's airlines. The flight engineers above all fly on board older-generation B747s. Air France itself has converted more than 400 flight engineers into actual pilots.
What is good for Air France is also good enough for British Airways: the FEs (flight engineers) in the airline's Concorde fleet are to keep flying for many years yet. The same applies to the airline's 747-200 fleet. BA's flight engineers on the last DC-10 and 747-100 planes which are to be phased out face options of part-time employment, early retirement, or compensation packages.
Swissair has taken a similar route. As early as the late 1970s, the trend toward the two-man cockpit was becoming apparent even for long-distance routes. At the time, Swissair had around 200 flight engineers. As a precaution, around 20 years ago the airline began hiring only those flight engineers who could also qualify as pilots so as to make it easier to re-school them.
Between 1985 and 1993, Swissair admitted 87 flight engineers for pilot schooling, and 69 of these eventually did make it back into the cockpit as pilots. In the next two years, as Swissair phases out its last jumbo jets, the airline's remaining 60 flight engineers will also lose their jobs. About 80 percent of these will be taken care of by retirement schemes, but the younger ones between 42 and 52 years will have to expect being dismissed from flight service.
They are to receive generous compensation support. Meanwhile an astonishing development is underway at Deutsche Lufthansa, where around 220 flight engineers are still employed on Boeing 747-200s and DC-10s. So far Lufthansa has been able to deal with the entire problem with the use of social benefit and compensation packages, although there were some hardship cases. And between 1985 and 1988, around 300 flight engineers were retrained as pilots.
Originally, the last of Lufthansa's flight engineers were to have been retired around the turn of the century, but now a new situation has evolved. The airline will find itself in a bind in about two years' time because the venerable B747-200 jumbo is now to be kept in operation longer than originally planned due to the general boom in civil aviation.
In fact, Lufthansa now even needs additional flight engineers. At All Nippon Airways, there are no problems yet. ANA's Boeing 747SR and 747-200 plans are to be in service for a number of years yet and so the flight engineers will be needed. Competing Japan Airlines (JAL) still has numerous flight engineers on its DC-10s, Boeing cargo aircraft and the 747LR and 747SR in its service.
As these airplanes are phased out over the years, the flight engineers will either be employed in aircraft maintenance or, depending on their age, leave the company, JAL said. At the giant U.S. company Delta Airlines, which still has more than 1,000 flight engineers, the fleet of Lockheed L-1011s is soon to be phased out, but the airline's even greater number of Boeing 727s will exist for quite a while yet.
Delta has already made its decision: all its flight engineers will be offered reschooling to become co-pilots. The picture is similar at most other U.S. airlines. And since worldwide pilots have become in short supply, many have good prospects especially younger flight engineers of being able to keep on flying. (DPA)
The longest tenure still awaits those flight engineers at Air France. They will keep their jobs until around the year 2010 as long as the supersonic jet Concorde, which needs flight engineers, remains in operation. Air France still has around 360 flight engineers, more than most of the world's airlines. The flight engineers above all fly on board older-generation B747s. Air France itself has converted more than 400 flight engineers into actual pilots.
What is good for Air France is also good enough for British Airways: the FEs (flight engineers) in the airline's Concorde fleet are to keep flying for many years yet. The same applies to the airline's 747-200 fleet. BA's flight engineers on the last DC-10 and 747-100 planes which are to be phased out face options of part-time employment, early retirement, or compensation packages.
Swissair has taken a similar route. As early as the late 1970s, the trend toward the two-man cockpit was becoming apparent even for long-distance routes. At the time, Swissair had around 200 flight engineers. As a precaution, around 20 years ago the airline began hiring only those flight engineers who could also qualify as pilots so as to make it easier to re-school them.
Between 1985 and 1993, Swissair admitted 87 flight engineers for pilot schooling, and 69 of these eventually did make it back into the cockpit as pilots. In the next two years, as Swissair phases out its last jumbo jets, the airline's remaining 60 flight engineers will also lose their jobs. About 80 percent of these will be taken care of by retirement schemes, but the younger ones between 42 and 52 years will have to expect being dismissed from flight service.
They are to receive generous compensation support. Meanwhile an astonishing development is underway at Deutsche Lufthansa, where around 220 flight engineers are still employed on Boeing 747-200s and DC-10s. So far Lufthansa has been able to deal with the entire problem with the use of social benefit and compensation packages, although there were some hardship cases. And between 1985 and 1988, around 300 flight engineers were retrained as pilots.
Originally, the last of Lufthansa's flight engineers were to have been retired around the turn of the century, but now a new situation has evolved. The airline will find itself in a bind in about two years' time because the venerable B747-200 jumbo is now to be kept in operation longer than originally planned due to the general boom in civil aviation.
In fact, Lufthansa now even needs additional flight engineers. At All Nippon Airways, there are no problems yet. ANA's Boeing 747SR and 747-200 plans are to be in service for a number of years yet and so the flight engineers will be needed. Competing Japan Airlines (JAL) still has numerous flight engineers on its DC-10s, Boeing cargo aircraft and the 747LR and 747SR in its service.
As these airplanes are phased out over the years, the flight engineers will either be employed in aircraft maintenance or, depending on their age, leave the company, JAL said. At the giant U.S. company Delta Airlines, which still has more than 1,000 flight engineers, the fleet of Lockheed L-1011s is soon to be phased out, but the airline's even greater number of Boeing 727s will exist for quite a while yet.
Delta has already made its decision: all its flight engineers will be offered reschooling to become co-pilots. The picture is similar at most other U.S. airlines. And since worldwide pilots have become in short supply, many have good prospects especially younger flight engineers of being able to keep on flying. (DPA)