Standard Operating Procedures

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Section 1.  The Staff

The staff of Saint Paul Airlines consists of the President, Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Human Resources, and Hub Managers, as well as other officers whom the staff may from time to time appoint.

Candidates for staff positions are subject to review and confirmation by a majority of the current staff.

All staff members must hold the rank of regular First Officer.

At Saint Paul's we currently have the following staff positions:
  1. PRESIDENT, SAINT PAUL AIRLINES.  The President is the Chief Executive of the airline and is responsible for everything the airline does or fails to do.  The President sets airline policy with the advice and consent of the staff.

  2. VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS.  The Vice President of Operations oversees the day-to-day operations of the airline and reports directly to the President. He assumes airline leadership in the absence of the President.

  3. VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES .  The Vice President of Human Resources reports directly to the President. This position will handle the processing of pilot applications as well as initial hub assignments. This person will handle the leave, reserve and termination requests as well as promotions. This position will serve as an advocate to all new pilots until the pilot is established here at St. Paul Airlines. There may also be some other responsibilies that may come up as we define this position. This person assumes airline leadership in the absence of the President and Vice President of Operations.

  4. VICE PRESIDENT OF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AND DEVELOPMENT (VPAMD):  The VPAMD's duties are to ensure that the current St. Paul fleet is up-to-date with real-world and St. Paul Standards, and that it meets our current needs of passenger and cargo requirements.

  5. HUB MANAGER. The Hub Manager is responsible for hub operations.  His duties include but are not limited to updating his hub roster a minimum of twice a week, providing assistance to his pilots when needed, and other administrative tasks as may from time to time be required. The Hub Manager reports to the Vice President of Operations.

    Since the Hub Manager is the backbone of SPA management, the following criteria will be observed when considering a pilot for this position:

    1. Time with the Airline - the prospective candidate shall have at a minimum three (3) months time in service with SPA on Active or Reserve status, with at least 6 weeks Active status as a pilot with the hub that he would manage if confirmed.

    2. Assignment Record - the prospective candidate shall have a record of on-time completion of flight assignments, as attested to by his present Hub Manager.

    3. Knowledge of Procedures - the prospective candidate shall demonstrate, either through training or through testing, a thorough knowledge of SPA procedures as documented in the company charter and this SOP.


  7. DIVISION MANAGERS

    1. Manager of Training: Will oversee the training division, maintain the training website, and provide instruction to SPA pilots when requested.

    2. Manger of Charter and Cargo Operations: Will oversee the charter and cargo operations division, and provide regular and special monthly charters to SPA pilots. This person will also work with VP of Aircraft and Maintenance to develop and maintain a fleet of aircraft for both of these operations.

    3. Treasurer: The Treasurer of St. Paul Airlines is an elected official that manages the funds generated by the Paypal account for sole purpose of paying the administrator of our server. The Treasurer is a non-voting staff member. He/She is also not incorporated in staff decisions unless it involves a monetary item. The Treasurer reports to the Senior Staff (VP's and President) of St. Paul Airlines. The Treasurer and the funds will be audited at least once per year by the Senior Management Staff; two months prior to renewal of the webhosting server and at the Senior Management Staff requests. The Paypal account will be accessed primarily by the Treasurer and also the President of St. Paul Airlines as a backup.



Section 2. Aircraft Categories



  1. A pilot may log flight time creditable towards promotion according to the aircraft category table . The pilot may fly any aircraft in the category for which he is rated, or in any lesser category. In order for a pilot's hours filed in the pirep to count towards the pilot's total hours, flights flown with St. Paul Airlines must be in the approved aircraft provided on the pirep form. The following are the only exceptions that will be allowed:

    1. Training, cargo and charter flights

    2. Pre-approval from the hub, training, cargo or charter manager

    3. Aircraft testing as approved by the VP of Aircraft Maintenance and Development

  2. A pilot may not log time creditable towards promotion in a higher aircraft category than for which he is rated, unless approved by the Training Division Manager.

  3. Pilots may not log time in single-engine aircraft, in accordance with FAR 121 governing commercial aviation operations. Exceptions may be made for codeshare flights with other airlines, approved charter flights, or by the Training Division Manager.

  4. The Training Division Manager is the final arbiter of any disputes involving this section.



Section 3.  Pilot Status Designations



A pilot may carry any one of four status designations:

 

ACTIVE DUTY.  Indicates that the pilot completes one flight assignment per week, a total of four per month. For a Senior Captain or above, only one of these flights need be assigned by hub management; the other three flights may be flown at the pilot's discretion.

 

RESERVE DUTY.  Indicates that the pilot completes one flight assignment per month. Pilots must have attained the rank of First Officer before being eligible for reserve status. Exceptions may be approved by the Hub Manager on a case-by-case basis.

 

ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE.  Indicates that the pilot is on a requested leave of absence.  Leaves of absence cannot exceed 45 days without the approval of the Vice President of Operations.

 

INACTIVE.  The pilot has been put on inactive status by the hub manager for failing to file a PIREP on time.

 

OVERDUE.  The pilot is overdue in logging his PIREP.



Section 4.  Termination Policy



  1. Pilots who have not filed a PIREP for over 14 days (30 days if Reserve Status) will be placed on Inactive Status.

  2. The Hub Manager will attempt to contact the pilot twice before removing him from the roster.

  3. If, when trying to contact the pilot, the pilot's email bounces, the Hub Manager may remove the pilot from the roster if the pilot does not contact the Hub Manager within 7 days.

  4. Any pilot who has been on Inactive Status for over 14 days is subject to removal from the roster without notice.

  5. Any pilot who is placed on inactive status three times during any 60-day period is subject to removal from the roster at the discretion of his Hub Manager.



Section 5.  Promotions



  1. A pilot is normally promoted to the next higher rank after logging the required hours for that rank, according to his selected career track.

  2. For promotions through Captain , at least 50% of the hours logged since the last promotion must be logged in the highest aircraft category for which the pilot is rated. For Senior Captains and above 25% of hours logged must be logged in the highest aircraft category for which the pilot is rated. The decision to promote a pilot rests with the Hub Manager.

  3. Outstanding pilots are eligible for a below-the-zone promotion after completing 85% of the hours required for their next rank. Below-the-zone promotions are limited to 3 SPA pilots per month.  These "slots" cannot be carried over to the next month. A pilot may not receive more than 4 below-the-zone promotions while employed at Saint Paul Airlines.

  4. Pilots who have achieved the rank of Sr. Fleet Captain will have "run of the house" and be allowed to fly any passenger or cargo aircraft, either in our fleet or not, to anywhere they choose, and will not receive monthly flight assignments. Sr. Fleet Captains are only required to file one pirep a month.



Section 6.  The Training Division and the Chief Pilot Program



Training Division

  1. The mission of the Training Division is to inform, educate, and assist line pilots in the safe and efficient performance of their flight duties.

  2. The official motto of the Training Division shall be:  Keep the Dirty Side Down!

  3. The Training Division Manager reports to the Vice President of Special Operations, and has authority to run the Training Division as he sees fit, consistent with the policy set forth by the President and this SOP.



Chief Pilot Program



  1. The purpose of the Chief Pilot Program is to develop experts in specific aircraft types as needed by this airline.

  2. Only one pilot may hold a Chief Pilot rating for a given aircraft family.  A family is normally defined as a major model number designation. For example, the Boeing 767-200 and 767-300ER are members of the same aircraft family, whereas the Airbus 320 and Airbus 340 are not.

  3. Chief Pilot rating core requirements:

    1. Log 50 verifiable hours in aircraft type.

    2. Submit research essay detailing the history of the aircraft type.

    3. Pass a brief aviation knowledge exam administered by the Training Division.

    4. In no case will a pilot be permitted to log flight time in an aircraft category for which he is not qualified solely for the purpose of fulfilling the first requirement listed above.

  4. The Chief Pilot Review Panel (CPRP) consists of the President, Vice President of Operations, Training Division Manager and other officers as the CPRP may appoint. The concurrence of the CPRP is required to be awarded the Chief Pilot rating.

  5. No change to the Chief Pilot rating program shall affect any pilot who received his Chief Pilot rating prior to the change (ex post facto).



Section 7. Chain of Command



  1. Pilots in management or leadership positions will maintain an open-door policy at all times.

  2. Line pilots should direct administrative questions to their Assistant Hub Manager or Hub Manager as appropriate.  Hub Management may then decide to escalate the question as needed.

  3. Aviation, aircraft, or simulator related questions should be directed to Training Division and/or appropriate Chief Pilot whenever possible.

  4. Any requests for corrections to the airline website which are not pilot-specific should be emailed to Webmaster.

  5. For administrative requests, such as update of pilot hours, the SPA goal is to respond to the pilot within 48 hours.  If a pilot receives no response after 48 hours, he should forward his request to the Vice President of Operations.  If the pilot receives no response from the Vice President of Operations within 48 hours, the pilot should forward his request to the airline President.  In no case should a pilot request go unanswered for 1 week or more.



Section 8. Processing of New Pilots



  1. Prospective pilots are encouraged to apply via our on-line web application form.

  2. When a pilot submits an application, it is emailed to the Vice President of Operations (or his designated representative).  A courtesy copy is sent to the President.

  3. Upon receipt of a prospective pilot's application, the Vice President of Operations should attempt to contact the pilot and verify that the information solicited in the form, such as previous flight time, is correct.

  4. Once the Vice President of Operations is satisfied that the information is correct, the Vice President then determines how many hours the pilot will be allowed to transfer.

  5. The Vice President of Operations assigns the pilot to the hub of the pilot's choice. If the pilot is undecided on the desired hub, the Vice President of Operations will assign the pilot to any hub depending on the needs of the airline.

  6. A newly hired pilot must establish email contact with the Hub Manager of the hub to which assigned within seven days of his hire date. If the pilot elects to begin his career with SPA with one or more training flights prior to being assigned regular hub flights, he must establish email contact with both the Hub Manager of the hub to which assigned and the Training Division Manager within seven days of his hire date. Additionally, whether a training flight or an assigned hub flight, the newly hired pilot must complete his initial flight assignment within 10 days of his hire date. Failure to comply with any of the above requirements of this paragraph will result in the pilot's termination and removal from the roster.

  7. Transfer credit: At SPA, we generally accept hours transferred from other virtual airlines, so long as they are verifiable with the previous virtual airline hub manager or airline management.  For credit over 200 hours, the previous hub manager must verify hours by email; just checking the airline website is not sufficient.



Section 9. Amendments



  1. Any pilot not on inactive status may propose an amendment to this SOP.

  2. The pilot will email the proposed amendment to his Hub Manager, who will verify it for clerical accuracy, and submit it to the Vice President of Operations.

  3. The Vice President of Operations will submit the amendment to the staff for a vote.

  4. If at least two-thirds of the staff vote in favor of the amendment, the amendment is approved. The Vice President of Operations will post an airline-wide announcement that the SOP has been changed.

  5. If an amendment fails to be ratified, it may not be reconsidered for 6 months.

  6. The staff may, with the consent of 2/3 of its members, temporarily suspend any provision in this SOP. This paragraph shall not be construed to allow the staff to act in any manner that would adversely affect any pilot.




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