Choose crew scheduling software by testing it against your own operation. Name the flight time scheme on your operations specifications or approval, give each vendor real duties from last month, including one you know was illegal, and check whether the system rejects it and names the rule. Then test cumulative limits, disruption recovery, qualification checks, record exports, integrations, crew tools, support hours, and the cost and time to a first published roster.
Start from your flight time scheme
"Supports FAA rules" or "supports EASA FTL" says little, because the rules a roster must respect depend on the kind of operation. The crew scheduling guide compares the headline limits; the table below shows which scheme applies.
| Operation | Scheme | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US Part 121 passenger operations | Part 117 flight and duty limitations and rest requirements. | 14 CFR 117.1 |
| US Part 121 all-cargo with 30 seats or fewer and a payload of 7,500 pounds or less | May comply with Part 135 sections 135.261 to 135.273, or apply Part 117. | 14 CFR 121.470 |
| US Part 135 scheduled passenger operations | Section 135.265, for a published schedule of at least five round trips per week on at least one route. | 14 CFR Part 135, Subpart F |
| US Part 135 on-demand operations | Sections 135.267 and 135.269. | 14 CFR Part 135, Subpart F |
| EU commercial air transport with aeroplanes | Subpart FTL, through a flight time specification scheme approved by the competent authority before it is implemented (ORO.FTL.125). | Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 |
| EU air taxi, emergency medical service and single-pilot aeroplane operations, and helicopter commercial air transport | National law of the Member State, under Article 8 of the regulation. | Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, Article 8 |
| UK Overseas Territories operators under OTAR Parts 121 and 135 | The fatigue management scheme in Appendix F. | OTARs |
Write your scheme, its approved variations, and any company or union rules on one page before the first demonstration. Every later test refers to it.
Twelve tests to run before you choose
| Criterion | Why it matters | Test to run |
|---|---|---|
| Rules for your exact scheme | Schemes count different things in different windows, so a roster legal under one can break another. | Give the vendor real duties from last month, including one you know was illegal. The system should reject it and name the rule. |
| Cumulative limits from real history | Rolling limits, such as 34 hours in any 7 consecutive days under section 135.265, depend on what each crew member actually flew. | Load a crew member close to a cumulative limit and try to assign one more duty. |
| A reason, not just a verdict | A planner needs the rule that rejected an assignment and the margin left on duty, rest and cumulative limits. | Ask to see the reason for a rejected assignment on screen. |
| Pairing and rostering for your size | Tools built for large networks expect pairing and bid processes a small airline may not run; charter tools may not build airline rosters. | Roster one real month and compare uncovered duties and planner time with your current method. |
| Recovery on the day | The published roster drifts as soon as the operation starts. | Inject a sick call and a two-hour delay, and time the path to a legal, approved change. |
| Qualifications and currency | A legal duty still needs a qualified crew member, and Part 135 operators keep records of certificates, medicals, checks and training (section 135.63). | Expire a medical or a recurrent check, then try to roster that crew member. |
| Records and audit trail | EASA operators keep individual flight time, duty and rest records for 24 months and give copies on request (ORO.FTL.245). | Ask for one crew member's full record export during the trial. |
| Integration | Double entry between scheduling, flight operations, HR, training and payroll is where errors start. | Ask for the interface list and a sample file or API document, not a slide. |
| Crew-facing tools | Crew need to see changes, request leave and acknowledge updates; EASA operators publish rosters sufficiently in advance (ORO.FTL.110). | Change a duty and watch it reach a crew device, with the acknowledgement recorded. |
| Data ownership and exit | The roster history is a regulatory record long after a contract ends. | Ask for a full export of the trial data in an open format, and the cost of an export at contract end. |
| Deployment, security and support | Crew control runs around the clock and across time zones. | Ask for hosting location, single sign-on and support hours in the contract, not the brochure. |
| Implementation and price | A small operator cannot carry a long project or open-ended fees. | Ask for a written plan with a dated first published roster, the pricing basis, and a reference operator of similar size and regulation. |
What vendors say about their own products
The table records what each vendor states on its own website, read on 19 October 2026, listed alphabetically without ranking. FlightAtom has not tested these products. "Not stated" means the pages read did not say it, not that the product lacks it. None of the pages read named a regulatory scheme as implemented, which is why the first test above matters.
| Vendor and product | Operators named | Planning functions stated | Legality checks as stated | Crew app and deployment as stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIMS Crew Management | Passenger, cargo, charter and business jet airlines, and helicopter operators. | Automatic pairing, rostering with several bidding types, live tracking of irregularities. | Duty regulations with automated legality checks. | eCREW web portal. Deployment not stated on the pages read. |
| CAE Crew Planner and Crew Manager | Airlines. | Pairing and roster optimizers; a crew recovery engine for irregular operations. | Regulatory and company rules. | Crew Access and RosterBuster apps. Deployment not stated on the current page. |
| FL3XX crew module | Charter and Part 135, corporate, air ambulance, cargo, scheduled airlines. | Drag-and-drop rostering; licences, training and expiries. | Live checks on flight time, duty and rest against the rule set in the operator's operations manual. | FL3XX Crew app. Deployment not stated. |
| Jeppesen ForeFlight Crew Pairing, Rostering and Tracking | Airlines. | Pairing; optimized rostering with preferential bidding, including strict seniority; tracking with recovery options. | Configurable rules engine with automatic legality checking. | Crew app not stated. SaaS with 24/7 support, or on premises. |
| Leon Software crew module | Business, scheduled and cargo operators. | Draft and published rosters; automatic rostering by position. | Flight time limitation tracking configured to the operator's operations manual. | Leon Mobile for Android and iOS. Online software, priced per active aircraft per month. |
| Lufthansa Systems NetLine/Crew | Airlines. | Pairing; optimized rostering; tracking with real-time recovery; vacation and open-time bidding; a payroll module. | Legal rest, fatigue, qualifications and union rules, maintained by the user. | Interactive Duty Plan and TripTrade apps. Pairing application cloud-native. |
| myairops flight | Part 135, Part 91 and Part 91K operators, airlines, corporate flight departments. | Rostering with shift patterns; pilot hours on type and currency. | Configurable flight time engine, pre-configured or with the operator's own rules. | Crew app for iOS. Cloud-based. |
| SOMA Software Flight Operations Management | Charter, regional airlines, cargo and other fleets. | Rest checks and crew reports for payroll; its own guide describes constraint-based crew matching for operators of 10 to 30 aircraft. | Rest checks. | Neither stated; its guide states 4 to 8 week implementations. |
| FlightAtom CREW Ai | Airlines and operators under OTAR Parts 121 and 135. | Solver-built rosters without a separate pairing step; day-off and trip bids; ranked recovery approved by a duty manager; qualifications; pay. | Appendix F to OTAR Parts 121 and 135; FAA Part 117 or EASA Subpart FTL is scoped and validated for each operation. | Self-service portal; native apps not yet on the App Store. Hosted for each operator on FlightAtom's WingLayer platform. |
What changes for a small airline
- Fewer people carry the system. Ask who maintains the rules when the regulation or your operations manual changes: your planners, the vendor, or a consultant.
- The scheme may be national. In the EU, air taxi, single-pilot and helicopter commercial air transport operators follow national rules, which a product built for Subpart FTL may not model.
- Implementation time is a cost. Ask for a dated first published roster in writing; a reference operator of your size is better evidence than a timeline on a web page.
- Price models differ. Vendors charge per aircraft, per crew member, per user or per module, often with an implementation fee. Compare the total for your fleet over three years.
Official references and scope
These official sources set the schemes and record-keeping duties above. Vendor statements are linked in the table and were read on 19 October 2026.
- 14 CFR Part 117: FAA flight and duty limitations and rest requirements for Part 121 passenger operations.
- 14 CFR 121.470: the option for small all-cargo operations to follow Part 135 limits or Part 117.
- 14 CFR Part 135, Subpart F: flight time limitations and rest requirements for scheduled and on-demand Part 135 operations.
- 14 CFR 135.63: Part 135 recordkeeping, including individual pilot records of flight time, checks and training.
- Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, consolidated text: Article 8 and Subpart FTL, including ORO.FTL.110, ORO.FTL.125 and ORO.FTL.245.
- Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements: OTAR Parts 121 and 135 and the fatigue management scheme in Appendix F.
Choosing crew scheduling software: FAQs
What is the best crew scheduling software for a small airline?
The one that is legal under your own flight time scheme, recovers a disrupted day with little change, and that your team can run. Test each candidate with real duties from your operation, including one you know was illegal, and compare implementation time, support hours and total cost for your fleet.
Which flight time rules apply to a small US airline?
It depends on the operation. Part 121 passenger operations follow Part 117. Small Part 121 all-cargo operations may follow the Part 135 limits or apply Part 117. Part 135 scheduled passenger operations follow section 135.265, and on-demand operations follow sections 135.267 and 135.269.
Which flight time rules apply to small EU operators?
Commercial air transport with aeroplanes follows Subpart FTL through a scheme approved by the competent authority. Under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, air taxi, emergency medical service and single-pilot aeroplane operations, and helicopter commercial air transport, follow national law.
How long must crew duty records be kept?
Under EASA rule ORO.FTL.245, an operator keeps individual records of flight times, duty periods, flight duty periods, rest periods and days free of duty for 24 months. Part 135 operators keep individual pilot records detailed enough to show compliance with the flight time limitations.
What should a crew scheduling software trial include?
Real duties from last month with one known illegal duty, a crew member close to a cumulative limit, an expired qualification, a sick call and a delay to recover, a change pushed to a crew device, and a full export of the trial data.
Do crew scheduling vendors say which regulations they implement?
Rarely in detail. On the vendor pages FlightAtom read on 19 October 2026, none named a specific scheme such as Part 117, Part 135 Subpart F or a national rule as implemented. Ask each vendor in writing which scheme is implemented today and which would be configured for you.
Have another question? The aviation question library answers more, each with its official source.
Run the tests on CREW Ai
Bring a roster period, your rules and a real disruption, and run the same tests on CREW Ai.