Philosophy, policies, procedures and practices: The four ‘P’s of flight deck operations

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the global aspects of flight operations: the philosophy, policies and procedures. A company’s philosophy is largely influenced by the individual philosophies of the top decision makers, but also by the company’s culture, a term that has come into favour in explaining broad-scale differences between corporations. The emergence of flight deck automation as an operational problem has generated an interest in the philosophy of operations, partly due to lack of agreement about how and when automatic features are to be used, and who may make that decision. The philosophy of operations, in combination with economic factors, public relations campaigns, new generations of aircraft, and major organizational changes, generates policies. Flight deck automation is still an immature aspect; in this case, there may be only a philosophy and procedures. Flight deck automation is still an immature aspect; in this case, there may be only a philosophy and procedures.