CM-13 · Deadhead & Positioning Management

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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)

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L4 Process Steps

Step	Step Name	Role / Swim Lane	System	Input	Output	KPI	Dec?	Exc?
Phase 1 1.1	Detect Open Crew Position Requiring Deadhead	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Jeppesen Crew Management	Schedule change event, crew absence report, or pairing modification trigger	Open position flag with required report time and destination station	Position detected within 30 min of trigger event; 95th-percentile detection latency	N	N
1.2	Calculate Deadhead Eligibility & Rest Window	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Jeppesen Crew Management	Crew member duty history, block hours, and rest timestamps from pairing record	Earliest legal report time per FAR Part 117 / EASA FTL; rest compliance flag	100% FAR Part 117 compliance on all deadhead assignments; 0 regulatory violations	Y	Y
1.3	Identify Available Positioning Flight Options	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Amadeus Altéa PSS	Origin station, destination station, required arrival window	Ranked list of viable positioning flights with seat availability and timing feasibility	≥3 routing options identified per positioning requirement; identification completed ≤15 min	N	N
Phase 2 2.1	Check Own-Airline Seat Availability	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Amadeus Altéa PSS	Positioning flight options list, cabin inventory snapshot	Seat availability confirmation per candidate flight	Own-carrier deadhead utilisation rate ≥85% of all positioning trips	Y	N
2.2	Request Interline or Charter Positioning	Crew Travel Coordinator	Sabre GDS	No own-carrier availability confirmed; positioning deadline and budget ceiling	Interline booking confirmation or charter request raised with vendor	Interline deadhead cost ≤$500 per segment average; charter approval ≤60 min	N	Y
2.3	Book Deadhead Seat & Issue Travel Document	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Amadeus Altéa PSS	Confirmed flight selection, crew ID and employee number	PNR booking record, crew boarding pass, travel authorisation number	Booking confirmed ≥4 hours before positioning flight departure; 98% booking success rate	N	N
2.4	Notify Crew of Deadhead Assignment via App	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	SITA CrewConnect	Confirmed PNR, flight details, report time, and destination duty assignment	Push notification delivered to crew mobile app; acknowledgment receipt logged	Crew notification issued ≥3 hours before check-in; acknowledgment rate ≥95% within 30 min	Y	Y
Phase 3 3.1	Coordinate Priority Boarding with Departure Gate	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	SITA Airport Management System (AMS)	Crew PNR, flight gate assignment, boarding time	Priority boarding flag applied to PNR; gate agent briefed on crew presence	Deadhead crew boarded before door close 100% of trips; 0 involuntary offloads	N	N
3.2	Verify Crew Check-In Within Required Window	Crew Travel Coordinator	Amadeus Altéa PSS	Check-in event, seat map, boarding pass issuance status	Boarding pass issued; seat confirmed; check-in timestamp logged	Check-in completed ≥90 min before STD (international) or ≥60 min (domestic) — 100% compliance	Y	Y
Phase 4 4.1	Monitor Positioning Flight Departure Status	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Jeppesen Crew Management	STD, real-time flight status feed from OAG Flight Status API	Departure alert triggered if delay ≥30 min detected against crew arrival window	Delay alert generated within 5 min of ATD divergence; monitoring coverage 100% of active deadheads	Y	N
4.2	Confirm Crew Boarded on Positioning Flight	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Amadeus Altéa PSS	Boarding scan data from gate reader	Crew-on-board confirmation record with timestamp	On-board confirmation received ≥15 min before block-out; 100% of tracked deadheads	N	Y
Phase 5 5.1	Confirm Crew Arrival at Destination Station	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	SITA CrewConnect	Positioning flight block-in time, crew self-report via mobile app	Arrival confirmation timestamp logged in pairing record	Arrival confirmed within 15 min of block-in; 100% of active positioning trips	N	N
5.2	Validate Rest Compliance Before Activating Duty	Crew Compliance Analyst	Jeppesen Crew Management	Arrival timestamp, cumulative duty history, transport time log, FAR Part 117 rule set	Go / No-Go duty eligibility decision; compliance audit record	0 FAR Part 117 violations; 100% FTL compliance audit pass rate; review completed ≤10 min	Y	Y
5.3	Activate Crew for Assigned Duty Pairing	Crew Scheduling Coordinator	Jeppesen Crew Management	Go decision from compliance check; destination duty pairing details	Crew activated in system; pairing record updated; downstream operations notified	Crew activation completed ≥45 min before STD of first duty leg; 98% on-time activation rate	N	N
Phase 6 6.1	Initiate Disruption Recovery for Failed Positioning	Crew Controller	Jeppesen Crew Management	Missed or critically delayed positioning flight; unresolved open crew position	Alternative coverage plan: standby activation, crew reassignment, or re-deadhead routing	Alternative solution identified within 20 min of confirmed disruption; 0 flights cancelled solely due to unresolved crew positioning failure	Y	Y

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Process Attributes

Identification

Process IDCM-13

L1 DomainCrew Management

L2 ProcessCrew Day-of-Operations

L3 NameDeadhead & Positioning Management

L4 Steps15 across 6 phases

Decision Gates7 (all with iteration loops)

Exceptions7 documented

Swim Lanes (Roles)

Crew Scheduling Coordinator

Crew Travel Coordinator

Crew Compliance Analyst

Crew Controller

Systems & Tools

Jeppesen Crew ManagementAmadeus Altéa PSSSabre GDSSITA CrewConnectSITA Airport Management System (AMS)

Key Performance Indicators

Detect Open Crew Position Requiring DeadheadPosition detected within 30 min of trigger event; 95th-percentile detection latency

Calculate Deadhead Eligibility & Rest Window100% FAR Part 117 compliance on all deadhead assignments; 0 regulatory violations

Identify Available Positioning Flight Options≥3 routing options identified per positioning requirement; identification completed ≤15 min

Check Own-Airline Seat AvailabilityOwn-carrier deadhead utilisation rate ≥85% of all positioning trips

Request Interline or Charter PositioningInterline deadhead cost ≤$500 per segment average; charter approval ≤60 min

Book Deadhead Seat & Issue Travel DocumentBooking confirmed ≥4 hours before positioning flight departure; 98% booking success rate

Notify Crew of Deadhead Assignment via AppCrew notification issued ≥3 hours before check-in; acknowledgment rate ≥95% within 30 min

Coordinate Priority Boarding with Departure GateDeadhead crew boarded before door close 100% of trips; 0 involuntary offloads

Airline-Specific Risks & Pain Points

Late notification from operations control reduces available positioning flight windows, forcing costlier interline or charter options

Cumulative duty and transport time ambiguity under FAR Part 117 §117.25; manual override risk when schedulers bypass system warnings under pressure

Limited own-metal frequency on thin or spoke routes forces interline deadheads at significantly higher cost and approval overhead

High load factors on peak routes (>90% LF) eliminate deadhead seat inventory; conflicts arise with revenue upgrade requests in the same booking class

Absence of interline agreements with ultra-low-cost carriers limits competitive options; charter approvals require multi-level sign-off, slowing time-critical positioning

Deadhead bookings compete with upgrade inventory management; system priority rules inconsistently applied across stations, causing silent booking failures

Inputs / Outputs

Primary InputSchedule change event, crew absence report, or pairing modification trigger

Primary OutputAlternative coverage plan: standby activation, crew reassignment, or re-deadhead routing

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