Job profile and training requirements of

1. Job profile and training requirements of European flight dispatchers

2. Agenda 1 General 2 Survey results 3 IOSA Auditing 4 Consequences

3. What? • Dissertation as part of a Masters Degree Programme inAir Transport Management • London City University • Title:“Job profile and training requirements of European Flight Dispatchers” • Impartial, not politically motivated

4. Who? • Andreas Cordes, 41 years old • Ex Lufthansa Captain • Experience on B747-400, B737, A319/20/21 • Licensed Flight Dispatcher (Germany) • IOSA Lead Auditor and Trainer

5. Goals • Evaluate the environment of FOO/FDs in Europe anddefine a job profile • Analyze Operator specific differences • What kind of training is required in order to get the job done? • Assess the market chances for such a training course

6. A word about licenses • It is not the purpose of the study to answer the question, whether FOO/FDs should be licensed • The issue is highly political and worth a study of its own  But: • the study will deliver arguments for the discussion

7. Confidentialty • The study has not been completed yet • Content as presented here is tentative and shall not be copied and distributed • EUFALDA will receive the full paper as soon as it has been released by the University

8. Agenda 1 General 2 Survey results 3 IOSA Auditing 4 Consequences

9. Participants • Questionnaire has been sent to 140 Operators • All sizes, all business models, all 32 JAA member states • Feedback received from 42 Operators • 24 countries covered • Unfortunately very little feedback from:  UK Low-Cost Carriers

10. Staff numbers • Survey covers the work of 972 Flight Dispatchers • Being responsible for 1807 aircraft Staff ratio: 0,54 FOO/FD per aircraft • Ratio varies, depending on the type of operation

11. National license: 35,7% FAA license: 5,5% Not Licensed: License issued by 54,9% another European country: 3,8% Licensing 1 • The majority is unlicensed

12. Licensing 2 • Small Operators rely more on unlicensed staff • FAA License is popular for small operators • Turbo-prop and regional operators have the least licensed dispatchers

13. National,FAA and Only National EU licenses license recognized: recognized: 35,7% 42,9% Only National and other EU license Only National and recogniezd: FAA License 0% recognized: 21,4% Hiring 1 • 1/3 of all Operators require staff to be licensed • These Operators prefer a license issued by their authority- followed by FAA license- and only then accept other EU country’s licenses EU licenses are “isolated”

14. Hiring 2 • Most Operators require previous airline experience

15. Hiring 3 • Most Operators have hiring difficulties

16. Hiring 4 • Average on-the-job training for new-entrants is 3 months • Unlicensed staff does not receive more on-the-job training No compensation of training deficiencies

17. Interfaces/Work environment/Tools Highlights: • Primary interfaces for FOO/FDs are Cockpit Crew Flow Management Unit Line maintenance staff • FOO/FDs in small Operators have more interfaces than others • Unlicensed staff uses complex material less often (MEL, Performance Manuals…)

18. Tasks and duties • Very detailed data are available in the study • Only highlights are presented here • Activities are summarized in an “activity index” For - Preflight assistance- Operational Control- In-flight assistance- Other activities

19. Tasks and duties: Preflight assistance • Type of operation determines level of pre-flight assistance • Unlicensed staff is almost equally involved

20. Tasks and duties: Operational Control • All groups of FOO/FDs are equally active in operational control duties • Exception: executive operators

21. Tasks and duties: In-flight assistance • Level of in-flight assistance varies by operator type • Remarkable: Many operators provide flight-following • Small Operators provide less in-flight assistance

22. Tasks and duties: Other activities • FOO/FDs that work for small operators are kept busy with commercial activities (scheduling, bookings….)

23. Agenda 1 General 2 Survey results 3 IOSA Auditing 4 Consequences

24. IOSA world average IOSA world average IOSA Europe IOSA Europe 0,00% 2,00% 4,00% 6,00% 8,00% 10,00% 12,00% 14,00% 16,00% 0,00% 5,00% 10,00% 15,00% 20,00% 25,00% 30,00% IOSA Audits • European Operators have more findings in the Dispatch section, especially • Initial training and • recurrent training

25. IOSA Audits • Operational problems discovered in IOSA audits

26. IOSA Audits • IOSA Auditing is extremely difficult in the European environment because  U.S. and Europe are treated with identical standards • Consequence:IOSA standards have completely changed in late 2006 • Highlight: Introduction of the Flight Operations Assistant (FOA) to help EU carriers meet the standard • EUFALDA is strongly recommended to become familiar with the new concept !!

27. Agenda 1 General 2 Survey results 3 IOSA Auditing 4 Consequences

28. Consequences I • European FOO/FDs perform work that meets the definition of ICAO Annex VI in the new version of 2006 But: • Many FOO/FD are not adequately qualified • Training deficiencies are obvious, large spread exists between groups of Operators Hence: • Formal basic dispatch training is needed for all FOO/FDs Most existing programmes do not meet industry needs

29. Consequences II • Operators believe that a 3 mth. training would be adequate

30. Consequences III • Market chances of such training is limited because:  Training is not mandatory in most countries  Operators are not willing to pay  FAA training is cheaper and shorter • Possible solution: Minimum training could become mandatory irrespective of a licensing requirement • No change in regulation to be expected before EASA has full competence

31. Thank you! • … for your attention and • … for your support ! Have a successful venue in Iceland ! In case of questions, please contact: andreas.cordes@online.de