Attention All Pilots: Hot Meals are Required
There have been and there continue to be multiple instances of our flights departing without CBA Compliant Catering. Especially grievious are the increasing number of flights departing without hot meals.
Hot meals are required on all flights, regardless of fleet type, when said flights exceed 4 hours of block time.
It is important that all crew members, espcecially Captains, adhere to the CBA. Please do not put your fellow crew members in a compromising position.
If you have an oven that in inoperative and you do not have hot meals, assuming your flight exceeds 4 hours block, you do not need to depart. We recommend you advise the station rep and call a chief pilot to discuss the issue. That said, until appropriate hot meals are loaded onto your aircraft, you do not need to depart.
737 Crews – With the change over to Atlas CBA catering requirements, you are seeing some changes. One of the big changes relates to hot meals. The days of departing with a large salad and a $50.00 meal voucher are over. You are required, per the CBA, to have hot meals on your aircraft. Currently, the Company is refusing to do this. That is a direct violation of the CBA on their part. Please do not depart without a hot meal. We never have and do not currently intend on sanctioning vouchers.
747 Crews – Recently, we have had numerous instances of long-haul flights operating without an operable oven. Most of these recent flights departed without hot meals. It is wholly inappropriate to fly CVG-NRT, for example, without hot meals. Here are recent examples of flights that departed without hot meals and an inop oven:
PVG-ANC, ANC-GDL, LAX-ANC, ANC-MIA, MIA-GRU, SCL-MIA, MIA-ANC, ANC-ICN, ANC-CVG, CVG-ICN
767 Crews – We have also had recent reports of crews operating flights on aircraft with an oven deferred and departing without hot meals. Here are some legs that operated with an inop oven:
RFD-PDX, PDX-AFW, AFW-ONT, ONT-HNL, HNL-RIV
It is imperative that we, as crew members, audit our catering and ensure that each flight has CBA compliant provisions. It is important to remember that a major mitigating tactic for fatigue is proper nutrition and sustenance.
