I was wondering when pilots make long haul flights how many pilots fly ?

Question

my reason for asking is i was looking at a picture of a cabin and i noticed that behind the main seats there were 2 more i was just wondering when long haul flights take place is there usually more than one pilot and co pilot

Answer 1

Those are the jump seats. Often a long haul flight will have a primary crew and a relief crew. The primary crew will fly the takeoff and initial en route phase. Then the relief crew will take over. The primary crew will then rest and take back over at the end of the en route phase to fly through to the landing.

While the primary and relief crews may talk to each other during the en route phase, with members of either crew in the jumpseats, the non-flying crew will normally be someplace more comfortable. Crew members may also mix-and-match to some extent, with the primary pilot flying with the relief co-pilot, say, if the relief co-pilot wants the hours or something. Of course each crew member must be qualified for his station at all times.