Cargo Carrier Regulations

     In the wake of the Colgan Air accident, the FAA implemented new rest and duty regulations for all scheduled passenger air carrier operations under 14 CFR part 121. There are several key differences between the new rules and the old ones. Perhaps the most important are the minimum rest requirements. Under the old system, the crew was allowed 8 hours off in between duty periods but this does not include the opportunity for sleep. So if there was a long drive to the hotel, the bus was late, it did not matter you were only allowed 8 hours in between periods. The new rules change this up. There is now a 10 hour period in between ending shifts and starting another with the opportunity for 8 hours of uninterrupted rest. The crews are also required to call the company to extend their duty period if they do not have the opportunity to get 8 hours of sleep. There are now also limits on how much flying a pilot can do in a week, month, and year including: 100 block hours in any 672 consecutive hours (28 days) 1,000 block hours in any 365-day period and duty hours: 60 flight duty period hours in any 168 consecutive hours 190 flight duty period hours in any 672 consecutive hours. There now is also more responsibility on the pilot to declare himself "fit for duty" before every flight and if they declare they are fatigued, they must be removed from the flight. Under the current FAR's there is no definition for reserve status. Now there are short call and long call reserve. Airport or standby time is now considered part of the pilots' flight duty period. 

     Since cargo carriers are exempt from these new set of rules and regulations, the pilots are subject to more stringent and longer duty hours. They are only required to have 8 hours in between shifts unlike the 10 hours with a guarantee of 8 hours of sleep like the airlines do. They do not have the protections and regulations that reduce fatigue in their pilots like the airlines now have.

     There really is only one reason that cargo carriers have been omitted from these new sets of rules and regulations: The almighty dollar. It all comes down to money, unfortunately and even the FAA has admitted it. "The FAA, meanwhile, has revised its economic rationale behind exempting cargo pilots, saying it would cost the industry $550 million to comply, outweighing safety benefits. Originally, it said the rules would cost an additional $214 million. 'As a result, the FAA has determined that no revisions to the final rule on either cargo or passenger operations is warranted,' the agency said in a regulatory filing expected to be finalized by July." There is also the fact that a lot of the cargo flights are at night and this is the time when the rules affect flight-duty and rest periods the most so it would be a major burden on the cargo operators to change up their schedule to accommodate for the new rules. 

     I absolutely believe cargo operators need to be included in the new rest and duty rules. To omit them from this is an unbelievable and outrageous act by the FAA. Regardless of what the airplane is carrying, whether it is cargo or 300 passengers, a tired pilot is a tired pilot. By excluding cargo pilots from its new rules, the FAA is failing to adhere to its mission of making safety the first priority in aviation. If the FAA believes even one life lost in an accident is too many, shouldn't that principle also apply to cargo pilots?

     From a pilots' perspective, if the FAA were to include cargo carriers in these new rules and regulations, I don't believe much would change in terms of them being able to attract and retain pilots. It is widely known throughout the aviation industry that top cargo carriers such as UPS or Fedex are among the highest paying and are usually the most sought after career destinations even though they are still under the old regulations. If given the choice between Delta or Fedex, most pilots I know would go with the latter. If the FAA were to include them, it would only further entice pilots to join the cargo ranks and make the career at a cargo carrier that much more attractive. 
     

http://www.alpa.org/portals/alpa/fastread/2011/FastReadNewsflash_20111223.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/13/ups-pilots-urge-more-rest-for-cargo-crews/6402615/