Deadheading
Travelling as a passenger on duty to reach or return from an operating flight; counts as duty and is paid, but is not an FDP on its own.
Definition
Deadheading (positioning in British and EASA usage) is travelling as a passenger, by air or surface, at the airline's request to get you to where you will operate or back to base afterwards. Under EASA, positioning before operating counts as part of the FDP if it precedes a sector, and positioning after operating counts as duty but not as FDP; either way it can never be treated as rest. US contracts pay deadhead time at full or a reduced hourly rate, depending on the agreement.
What it means for you
A deadhead is a working day in plain clothes or uniform, so it eats into your duty limits and needs rest afterwards like any other duty, even though you served nobody. It is also usually paid, which is why crew notice when an airline books positioning sectors in Economy on a long flight: the fatigue cost is real, and some contracts require Business Class positioning on sectors above a certain length.
In practice
A Turkish Airlines crew whose aircraft goes technical in Bogotá are positioned home on the next TK flight; the twelve hours in seats count as duty, are paid, and require full rest in Istanbul before their next report.
Related terms
4 terms- Duty periodRoster & schedulingAny continuous period of work for the airline — flying, standby, training, positioning or ground tasks — from report to release.
- Flight duty periodRoster & schedulingThe regulated window from report for a flying duty to engines off after the last sector; the core limit protecting crew from fatigue.
- DiversionFlight operationsLanding at an airport other than the planned destination — for weather, a technical fault, fuel or a medical emergency on board.
- JumpseatPay & benefitsThe fold-down crew seat at each door or on the flight deck; as a benefit, the right to ride it free when commuting or travelling.