ABSTRACT
The Crew Planning department of an airline is tasked with producing and maintaining the duty rosters for the company's pilots and flight attendants. Crew planning involves the creation of a timetable that allocates a crew member to a specific duty. It may be a flight, a series of flights, or another assignment such as a standby, training, or ground duties, and these activities collectively form a duty roster. In order to make the various tasks more manageable, airlines typically divide their crew planning functions into two distinct stages: the strategic stage where the planning takes place, and the tactical stage where the day-to-day management of the plan is carried out. The production of a monthly crew roster is one of the core functions of the Crew Planning department and consists primarily of the following elements: flight duties, reserve duties, ground duties, training, rest periods, days off and annual leave.
