PRESS RELEASE OF ECA, BRUSSELS, 13 december 2016

London School of Economics study reveals weak links in Europe’s aviation.

Low cost and cargo airlines stand out in European aviation – with significantly lower safety culture and high number of fatigued pilots in the cockpit – compared e.g. to network airlines. These are among the findings revealed in the largest ever independent study among pilots in Europe, carried out by the London School of Economics and Politics (LSE) and EUROCONTROL within the framework of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 (Future Sky Safety programme). 

The survey among 7.239 pilots reveals that European aviation can pride itself with a generally good safety culture. Using 11 dimensions to define “safety culture”, researchers polled pilots about their perceptions to build a total score for the level of safety culture across European airlines. The results show that pilots are confident in flying, encourage their colleagues to speak up and belief in their colleagues’ commitment to safety.

While, overall, the study gives a “positive” mark to Europe’s aviation safety culture, a number of worrying findings are highlighted by the research:

› A large majority of pilots is flying while fatigued (58%)
› Only one out of three (39%) believes adequate training is provided when new systems and procedures are introduced
› Less than half of respondents think they receive timely feedback on the safety issues they raise (45%)
› Half of the respondents believe there is no good communication in the company about safety
› Only one out of three (37%) pilots have a high degree of trust in their airline’s management regarding safety
› One out of five (20%) is not satisfied with the level of confidentiality of the safety reporting and investigation processes
› Less than half of the pilots believe the national Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs) – the primary national actors which oversee aviation – take safety seriously (46%)

Significant differences in safety culture scores depend on factors such as the type of airlines pilots fly for or the type of contract they work on, finds the study. For example, pilots working for low-cost or cargo airlines rate their companies’ safety culture more negatively than pilots working for e.g. network carriers. 42% of low cost pilots and cargo pilots believe their companies do not have sufficient staff to do the work safely, against 20% in network carriers.

Also pilots on zero-hour contracts and self-employed pilots demonstrate a significantly lower perception of safety culture compared to their directly employed colleagues. For example, while pilots directly employed by airlines are fairly confident that safety-related reports are treated in a fair & just manner, their counterparts on atypical contracts have a less confident view (73% vs 53%). A previous study among more than 6.000 European pilots by the University of Ghent already flagged that atypical employment is on the rise and that the type of employment contract can have an impact on the pilot’s safety decisions. The LSE study takes this a step further and links atypical employment to lower safety culture, as reported by the pilots.

Passengers might be surprised by these results but the outcome is no surprise to industry insiders:

“Each and every one of these findings is a potentially fatal flaw in the aviation system”, says ECA President Capt. Dirk Polloczek. “Pilots’ commitment to safety sometimes encounters barriers – and this study highlights very well where these barriers are – crew fatigue, questionable employment models, insufficient trust in management and in national aviation authorities. This study offers the hard evidence about the weak spots of European aviation. And it’s a wakeup call for European and national authorities to take action.”

One of the most striking revelations of the study is that 58% of pilots – irrespective of airline or the employment model – are flying while fatigued. This means 6 out of 10 are tired at the controls of the airplane, a condition, which is recognised as one of the major factors that can impair human performance and is cited as a cause of accidents and incidents in the transport industry. A closer look at the study reveals that the percentage of fatigued pilots is larger in Low Cost Carriers (76%) and cargo airlines (83%). In addition, more than 50% of pilots feel their airline does not take the issue of fatigue seriously.

“These alarmingly high numbers come after the introduction of a new set of European-wide Flight Time Limitation rules, which were supposed to prevent pilot fatigue”, says Philip von Schöppenthau, ECA Secretary General. “The LSE study indicates that something – if not many things – are wrong about the way airlines schedule their flight crew and manage crew fatigue. And the fact that a large part of the pilots, especially in low cost airlines, are not comfortable to complete a fatigue report is really worrying.”

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For further information, please contact:

Capt. Dirk Polloczek, ECA President
Philip von Schöppenthau, ECA Secretary General
 Tel: +32 2 705 32 93

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PRESS RELEASE OF ECA, BRUSSELS, 16 SEPTEMBER 2016

Etihad Airways Partners Pilot Group (EAPP) continues to take stock of the developments at the airlines and is looking forward to intensify cooperation with the airlines. At the latest meeting, hosted by the European Cockpit Association, the pilot group focused in particular on the ongoing processes in Air Berlin and Alitalia, the restructuring of regional fleets, the potential growth of the long haul sector and the growth of other Etihad partners such as Air Serbia.

The Etihad Airways Partners Pilot Group is formed by representatives of the pilots’ unions in the Etihad Partners Airlines in Europa. The Group has been meeting regularly since June 2015, is now looking forward to intensify cooperation with Etihad on these coming goals.

The pilots agree that joint effort of management and employees will bring stability to the European operations and hereby enable future growth and profitability of Etihad Airlines partners.

Next EAPP meeting – December 2016, Rome, hosted by ANPAC

PRESS RELEASE OF SWISSALPA, ZURICH, 08 June 2016

On 19th May 2016 SwissALPA hosted the "EAPP Meeting" in Zurich. It was attended by the professional associations representing the pilots of Etihad Airways Partner airlines in Europe and the European Cockpit Association (ECA). The main goal of this initiative is to strive for uniform working conditions and to protect the jobs and career prospects within the Etihad Aviation Group.

During the day the discussions focussed on industrial issues as well as the recent developments concerning Etihad's equity stakes in European airlines. Although the meeting has only been the fourth occasion so far the initiative has already proven to be a very valuable interaction between the professional associations involved. It was agreed to intensify the collaboration, with an important area identified on the technical side. A prominent example thereof is the future introduction of a groupwide training process through the Etihad Aviation Group. In addition regulatory issues, like the recent introduction of EASA flight time limitations in Europe, will be covered.

The next meeting is scheduled for 13th September 2016 in Brussels. All associations being part of the initiative welcome the participation of Etihad representatives to start a dialogue between management and the European pilots' workforce of the Etihad Aviation Group.

press release of the european cockpit association, Brussels, 4 May 2016

The European Cockpit Association (ECA), representing over 38.000 European pilots, is announcing its support for “Europeans for Fair Competition” (E4FC), a coalition, dedicated to restoring a level playing field for European aviation vis-à-vis state-sponsored Gulf carriers.

In the past decade, state-sponsored airlines from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have massively expanded their capacity on many of the routes previously serviced by European carriers. The problem with this capacity-dumping is that these airlines are (partly) state-owned, supported by state aid, benefitting from access to cheap (airport) infrastructure, fuel and capital. Such market distorting practices are detrimental not only to the aviation industry, its employees, and direct connectivity for passengers, but also harms the wider EU economy.

“Everyone should be bound to play by the same rules”, says ECA President Dirk Polloczek. “And yet, over the past decade, the three Gulf airlines have collectively received €39 billion in unfair benefits from their governments, as a recent in-depth investigation showed. It is therefore no surprise that these cash-rich airlines can afford to easily finance their excessive and detrimental growth strategy. What is alarming is that all this comes directly at the expense of the European aviation and its employees, who are following strict state-aid and fair competition rules and who do not have access to unlimited funds. Europe needs to take urgent action and stop this to safeguard the future of our industry and the employment it generates in Europe.”

The goal of the E4FC coalition is to raise awareness for the urgent need to restore fair competition, to end the Middle East airline subsidies and to expose airlines violating the international agreements and competition and trade rules.

“600 European-based jobs are lost for every long-haul route abandoned as a result of the predatory expansion of a Gulf carrier”, says Philip von Schöppenthau, ECA Secretary General. “The threat is real, it is happening now, and needs action quickly. We will work closely with national governments, the European Commission and other stakeholders to end this unprecedented and harmful market distortion.”

For further information, please contact:

Dirk Polloczek, ECA President, Tel: +32 2 705 32 93

Philip von Schöppenthau, ECA Secretary General, Tel: +32 2 705 32 93

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For more information see: ECA submission to the US Department of State & ECA Statement at European Parliament Hearing

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