Should Cargo Carriers Be Exempt From Flight/Duty Regulations?
1.) The FAA states that, under 14 CFR 117.11, "No certificate holder may schedule and no flight crew may accept an assignment or continue an assigned flight duty period if the total flight time: Will exceed the limits specified in Table A of this part if the operation is conducted with the minimum required flight crew. Will exceed 13 hours if the operation is conducted with a 3-pilot flight crew. Will exceed 17 hours if the operation is conducted with a 4-pilot flight crew" (2012). Overall, the new flight and duty regulations that are currently in place are much more in favor of pilots. Before, the regulations allowed for pilots to have as little as 8 hours of rest before the next day. This was eliminated in the new regulations. The new regulation also calls for at least 10 consecutive hours of rest. This would allow for the circadian rhythm to kick in.
2.) The Federal Aviation Regulations state that under CFR 135.265, "No certificate holder may schedule any flight crew-member, and no flight crew member may accept an assignment, for flight time in scheduled operations or in other commercial flying if that crew-members total flight time in all commercial flying will exceed - 8 hours between required rest periods for a flight crew consisting of two pilots qualified under this part for the operation being conducted".
3.) I feel as though cargo operators were exempt from the new flight and duty regulations ultimately due to money. Several cargo carriers would likely have gone bankrupt if they had to follow the new regulation. No cargo carrier makes enough profits to support the new regulation. The regulation could cost $550 million to comply with. A large majority of the airlines that fly cargo in the United States are rather small operations that do not make anywhere near as large of profit as passenger legacy carriers.
4.) I feel as though a cargo company's size should determine whether it was included in the new rules or not. A company like USA Jet based out of Willow Run would not be able to support the massive expense these new regulations would impose. However, I feel as though companies such as UPS and FedEx would be able to support the cost and liability of the new regulations. According to an article published on Air Transport World, "FedEx Corp. posted $3 billion in consolidated net profit for fiscal 2017, up 64.7% from the company’s $1.8 billion net profit in fiscal 2016". Clearly, a massive cargo hauling conglomerate like FedEx would be able to support more regulations. I feel as though this is fair because a company like FedEx has a lot of air crews to keep track of and keep safe, much like a passenger carrier.
5.) For pilots, if all cargo carriers were forced to adopt the current regulations in place for cargo carriers, many of them would lose their jobs to huge corporations like UPS and FedEx. Companies like USA Jet would be unable to make enough profits to continue business and ultimately, UPS or FedEx would end up getting a lot more contracts. This would likely lead to UPS and FedEx creating their own regional carriers operating freight that flew shorter routes.
Sources:
FAA. Federal Aviation Regulation. 14 C.F.R 117.11 (2013). Retrieved from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/117.11?qt-ecfrmaster=1#qt-ecfrmaster
FAA. Federal Aviation Regulation. 14 C.F.R 135.265 (2011). Retrieved from: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2011-title14-vol3/CFR-2011-title14-vol3-sec135-265
Nensel, Mark. (June 26, 2017). FedEx Posts $3 Billion Fiscal 2017 Net Profit. Retrieved from: http://atwonline.com/airline-financials/fedex-posts-3-billion-fiscal-2017-net-profit
2.) The Federal Aviation Regulations state that under CFR 135.265, "No certificate holder may schedule any flight crew-member, and no flight crew member may accept an assignment, for flight time in scheduled operations or in other commercial flying if that crew-members total flight time in all commercial flying will exceed - 8 hours between required rest periods for a flight crew consisting of two pilots qualified under this part for the operation being conducted".
3.) I feel as though cargo operators were exempt from the new flight and duty regulations ultimately due to money. Several cargo carriers would likely have gone bankrupt if they had to follow the new regulation. No cargo carrier makes enough profits to support the new regulation. The regulation could cost $550 million to comply with. A large majority of the airlines that fly cargo in the United States are rather small operations that do not make anywhere near as large of profit as passenger legacy carriers.
4.) I feel as though a cargo company's size should determine whether it was included in the new rules or not. A company like USA Jet based out of Willow Run would not be able to support the massive expense these new regulations would impose. However, I feel as though companies such as UPS and FedEx would be able to support the cost and liability of the new regulations. According to an article published on Air Transport World, "FedEx Corp. posted $3 billion in consolidated net profit for fiscal 2017, up 64.7% from the company’s $1.8 billion net profit in fiscal 2016". Clearly, a massive cargo hauling conglomerate like FedEx would be able to support more regulations. I feel as though this is fair because a company like FedEx has a lot of air crews to keep track of and keep safe, much like a passenger carrier.
5.) For pilots, if all cargo carriers were forced to adopt the current regulations in place for cargo carriers, many of them would lose their jobs to huge corporations like UPS and FedEx. Companies like USA Jet would be unable to make enough profits to continue business and ultimately, UPS or FedEx would end up getting a lot more contracts. This would likely lead to UPS and FedEx creating their own regional carriers operating freight that flew shorter routes.
Sources:
FAA. Federal Aviation Regulation. 14 C.F.R 117.11 (2013). Retrieved from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/117.11?qt-ecfrmaster=1#qt-ecfrmaster
FAA. Federal Aviation Regulation. 14 C.F.R 135.265 (2011). Retrieved from: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2011-title14-vol3/CFR-2011-title14-vol3-sec135-265
Nensel, Mark. (June 26, 2017). FedEx Posts $3 Billion Fiscal 2017 Net Profit. Retrieved from: http://atwonline.com/airline-financials/fedex-posts-3-billion-fiscal-2017-net-profit
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