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Flight Assignments

For pilots who prefer a guided experience or wish to explore the network without manually searching the schedule, Air Transat Virtual offers a Flight Assignment system. This tool generates randomized flight opportunities based on your current location and rank.

I. How it Works

Flight Assignments are designed to simulate a "week in the life" of a commercial pilot by selecting a sequence of flights for you to complete.

  1. Generation: When you request a flight assignment in the CrewCentre, the system looks at your current "location" (the airport where you last landed) and your Pilot Rank.

  2. The 5-Flight Sequence: Instead of a single trip, the system generates a roster of five (5) consecutive flights. These flights are chained together, meaning the arrival airport of the first flight will be the departure airport for the second, and so on.

  3. Randomization: The system provides random scheduled flights that match your aircraft certifications while ensuring the logical flow of the tour.

  4. Acceptance: Once the flights are generated, you can add them to your active schedule by selecting the "Add to Bids" button located beside each flight.

  5. Dispatch: After adding a flight to your bids, the dispatch data for your current leg is sent to your preferred ACARS client (vmsACARS or smartCARS 3). As you complete each flight, the next leg in your assignment becomes available for tracking.

II. Benefits of Assignments

Using the Flight Assignment system offers several advantages:

  • Network Exploration: It encourages pilots to fly routes they might otherwise overlook, helping to distribute Air Transat Virtual traffic across our global network.

  • Operational Realism: It simulates the "bid" or "scheduling" environment of a real-world commercial pilot.

  • Ease of Use: It eliminates the need to manually browse hundreds of flights in the schedule search tool.

III. Operational Rules

  1. Rank Restrictions: Assignments will only generate flights for aircraft types you are currently authorized to fly based on your rank.

  2. Location Persistence: The system is "Location Aware." You must be at the arrival airport of your previous flight to receive a new assignment from that location.

  3. Manual Overrides: If you are unhappy with an assignment, you can "un-bid" the flight in the CrewCentre and request a new one or manually select a different flight from the schedule.

  4. Logging: Flights booked via the assignment system are subject to the same PIREP Approval Criteria as any other flight.

IV. Troubleshooting

If no assignments are available at your current location:

  • Ensure you have not already reached the maximum number of active bids.

  • Check if the airport you are at has scheduled Air Transat departures.

  • If you are at a remote airport with no scheduled service, you may need to perform a Free Flight or use the "Jumpseat" feature to return to a major hub like Montreal (CYUL) or Toronto (CYYZ).

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