Originally Posted by
bizaro86
Hello,
I was recently on the non-stop YYC-FRA, which was operated by a 767-300. At the beginning of the flight, the pilots were introduced as: Your Captain is XXX, the first officer is XXX, and the second officer is XXXX. Now, my understanding is that a 767 requires only a captain and a first officer, and that a second officer/flight engineer would not normally be used.
Would there be some reason why AC would operate with additional pilots? The possibilities I can think of are flight length/crew rest, training, or some sort of union scope clause. Any insight appreciated.
Michael
While I'm no expert and I'll leave it to others to explain it better... As far as I can tell, it is (mostly) to do with the amount of time the crew sits behind the controls. What I do know is, on long flights, a J Class seat is blocked off for "crew rest".