Cathay Pacific | Electronic Flight Folder

Modified on Sun, 25 Feb 2024 at 11:17 AM

Pilots at Cathay Pacific (CPA) can choose from 3 different interfaces of importing flight data:

Planned Roster

Crew Link: import your planned roster from the company iPad iOS calendar

Crew Link exports your planned roster to the iOS calendar. CrewLounge PILOTLOG connects with your iOS calendar app and retrieves all flight and simulator events from the calendar into your pilot logbook. You can then complete the flight details manually.

Install CrewLounge PILOTLOG on the company iPad. Select the Cathay Pacific - iOS Calendar interface from the Settings - Airline Interface page in your CrewLounge PILOTLOG app.

This method also works for Historical data.

Historical Data

Crew Link Log Book: export your historical flying from the Crew Link app

Export the "Log Book record of Flight Duties" record from the Crew Link app - Profile - Log Book. This generates a TXT text file.

You can share this file with the CrewLounge PILOTLOG app, installed on the company iPad using the iOS Share method, or share the file with any other mobile or desktop device. Select the Cathay Pacific - Crew Link Log Book interface from the Settings - Airline Interface page in your CrewLounge PILOTLOG app.

Alternatively, you can also upload the TXT file to My CrewLounge using the Safari browser on your company iPad. Follow the same steps for "EFB Web" as explained below, but using the Log Book interface instead.

Electronic Flight Folder (EFF): make a screenshot from the EFF app and import the flight details

CrewLounge PILOTLOG imports your OOOI hours from the company Electronic Flight Folder app. Continue reading...

How to import from EFF?

You can install CrewLounge PILOTLOG on the company iPad, or you can run the logbook app on your personal device (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac).

Proceed as follows:

1- make a screenshot of the OPS - Sector page in the Electronic Flight Folder app
2- configure your CrewLounge PILOTLOG app
3- import the file with CrewLounge PILOTLOG

Here is a sample screenshot, further named the "EFF Sector" image:

CrewLounge uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to retrieve flight data from the EFF Sector image. The following details are imported:

Date | Flight Number | Departure and Arrival airfields

Scheduled Hours | Actual OOOI Hours

Type of Approach | Autoland

Pilot Names

Unfortunately, there are some particularities with importing this EFF Sector image:

Date: The date listed in the header shows only the Day and Day of the Week. It has no month and year... CrewLounge calculates back from today and finds the first date that corresponds to the combination of day and weekday!

If you use the Email Inbox method (explained further), you can insert the date in the email subject to override the automation. The date must be given in the format YYYY-MM-DD.

Task PF: OCR cannot interpret the green back color that is used to indicate the Pilot Flying.

If you use the Email Inbox method (explained further), you can insert "PF" in the email subject to indicate that you were PF on that flight.

Aircraft: The EFF Sector page does not have the aircraft model and registration. CrewLounge will substitute the aircraft with a dummy.

If you use the Email Inbox method (explained further), you can insert the aircraft registration (e.g. "BHQR" or "B-HQR") in the email subject

If you are not using the EFB Inbox email method, you must edit the flight in your CrewLounge PILOTLOG app and manually insert the aircraft registration and PF/PM.

How to configure PILOTLOG?

Open the CrewLounge PILOTLOG app:

1) on the Settings - Airline page, select the interface EFB - Electronic Flight Folder for Cathay Pacific

fill-out the different settings that come with this interface

2) on the same page in the Import Events section, make sure that Historical Data is turned-On for FLIGHTS

if you run CrewLounge PILOTLOG on multiple devices (iPhone/iPad, Android, Mac, Windows) then verify the settings on ALL your devices (just to make sure that everything got synched)
this interface cannot generate a DUTY around the FLIGHT as the data is received and processed flight-by-flight. If you record Duties in CrewLounge PILOTLOG, you must manually create the DUTY on the Duty page.

3) on the Pilot List page, edit pilot SELF and insert your Roster Alias

insert the name as it shows on the EFF Sector image (e.g. JOHN DOE) in the Roster Alias field
omitting this step may result in your name and Pilot SELF both being listed on the same flight. Continue with this article (read here) to clean-up your logs.

4) on the Settings - Flight Logging page, select AUTO LOAD TASK = "from Airline interface / EFB"

this setting allows to retrieve PF/PM (Landing Pilot) from the EFF Sector (when sent via email) and calculate Takeoff-Landing accordingly

the combination of PF/PM with night time will set Takeoff/Landing Day/Night. Enable Automatic Night Time calculation on the Settings - Flight Logging page and select the calculation method in line with your aviation regulations.

5) you may also want to read the following solution articles to configure auto-load of function times:

How to import the EFF Sector image?

You can import your EFB data in 3 different ways!

All methods require internet access. You cannot share your data with CrewLounge PILOTLOG offline. Batch import (multiple images at a time) is not possible, you must share or email the images one-by-one.

Choose the method that is most convenient for you. Here is an overview, the details are outlined further down in this article.

EFB Inbox

Send an email to our dedicated CrewLounge EFB Inbox and attach your EFF Sector image file. This method is fully automatic, no buttons to click inside the app!

Read more about the EFB Inbox method below.

EFB Share

Share the EFF Sector image from Electronic Flight Folder app to the CrewLounge PILOTLOG app, installed on the company iPad.

If you prefer not installing CrewLounge PILOTLOG on your company iPad, you can AirDrop (iOS, MacOS) or SnapDrop (Android, Windows) the image to your personal device, and then import the image file with the CrewLounge PILOTLOG app installed on that device.

Read more about the EFB Share method below.

EFB Web

Upload the EFF Sector image to My CrewLounge, using the Safari browser on your company iPad. The web method is useful for company iPads that don't allow installing third-party apps and/or sending emails outside of the corporate domain.

Read more about the EFB Web method below.

How does EFB Inbox work?

1) Make a screenshot of the OPS - Sector page

press the iOS Share/Export icon
select the iOS Mail app

2) Email the EFF Sector image from the company iPad to our dedicated EFB Inbox

the Email Subject can be left empty, or you can add date, aircraft registration and/or task (as explained above) - e.g. Subject: BHQR PF
your email is processed within 90 seconds
you receive an automatic confirmation email
the flights automatically sync to your CrewLounge PILOTLOG app

Send your emails with image attachment to the following dedicated EFB Inbox:

You can send emails from any email address. However, if the Sender address is different from your CrewLounge AERO account email, you must first insert that Sender address in My CrewLounge - Roster - Airline Interface - EFB Inbox (login here).

How does EFB Share work?

If the CrewLounge PILOTLOG app is installed on the company iPad, proceed as follows:

1) Make a screenshot of the OPS - Sector page

2) Press the Share icon, and share the image with the PILOTLOG app

3) When the PILOTLOG app opens, press the CONVERT button

If you run CrewLounge PILOTLOG on your personal device (iOS, Android, Mac, Windows), proceed as follows:

1) Make a screenshot of the OPS - Sector page

2) Share the image file with your personal device

select AirDrop to push the image to another iOS or Mac device
or, use SnapDrop (read more) to share the image with an Android or Windows device

3) Open/View the image on your personal device and press the Share icon

share the image with the PILOTLOG app
press the CONVERT button

How does EFB Web work?

As a third method, you can use the EFB Web method and upload your EFF Sector image to My CrewLounge, as follows:

1) Make a screenshot of the OPS - Sector page

press the iOS Share/Export icon
select the Save to Files option, and save the image file to your iPad

2) Navigate to My CrewLounge - My Roster

launch the Safari browser
login to My CrewLounge (login here)

3) Import the EFF Sector image file

select EFB - Electronic Flight Folder as 'Type of Roster File'
complete the other fields, such as your Home Base
tap on Browse and select the image file
press the CONVERT button

To import multiple flights, press the CLEAR button and repeat step 3).