Originally Posted by
PLeblond
Spoke with a 787 Training Capitan (total plane geek, we chatted the whole flight YUL-YYZ) and also the SD on the 787-8 flight. Both confirmed minimum FA's is 8 for the 787-8 except in rare circumstances where there are very few (or no) passengers like a ferry flight.
What did your own eyes reveal last week?
There are two aspects to look at here: legal and contractual.
Legally, and by that, I mean mandated by Transport Canada, the bare minimum crew complement on the 788 is 5 and no less than 1 FA per 40 passengers. Which means if only 5 crew members are carried, then there cannot be more than 200 passengers on the 788.
The 788 on AC is configured to hold 255 passengers. So if AC does not want to leave anyone behind, it needs a minimum of 7 FAs, which is what it is crewed for on domestic flights. (Note that I am using the term FA here to mean both FA and SDs.)
Contractually, and by that, I mean the collective agreement with CUPE, the bare minimum crew complement on the 788 is no less than 1 FA per 40 passengers. In addition, if the flight is an overseas, then there must be at least one FA per door. Which means an overseas is crewed with at least 8 FAs (since there are 8 doors on the 788). On certain longer overseas flights, there are 9 FAs.
Now, there are certain exceptions to the minimum crewing, such as when an FA is sick on a layover and away from a crew base, the 788 can be operated with a minimum of 5 FAs but now with a 1 FA per 50 passengers ratio. Which means in this scenario, AC will only leave 5 passengers behind.