How to See Your Crew Friends' Roster - Even If They Fly for a Different Airline
- Wingman Log
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
You know the feeling. You are on a layover in Dubai, your friend from a different airline is probably somewhere nearby, and the only way to find out is a WhatsApp chain that takes two hours to resolve. Or you are trying to plan leave, and you need to know if your batchmate is free the same week, but they fly for a different carrier on a completely different rostering system.
Crew life is built on this kind of coordination. The problem is that every airline keeps its roster inside its own portal, and none of them talk to each other.
AirRoster's friends roster feature solves this. Here is how it works, why it matters, and how to set it up.
Why Viewing a Friend's Roster Is Harder Than It Should Be
Airline crew have one of the most unpredictable schedules of any profession. Off-days move. Layovers shift. A flight you thought was domestic becomes a three-day international turn. Plans made in advance get rearranged constantly.
Coordinating with crew friends from the same airline is already difficult. Coordinating with friends from different airlines is significantly harder because there is no common platform where both rosters live.
The workarounds most crew use: screenshots shared over WhatsApp, CSV exports emailed back and forth, or just calling and asking. All of these introduce friction, delay, and the risk that the information is already outdated by the time it arrives.
What AirRoster's Friends Feature Actually Does
AirRoster lets you add crew members from any supported airline as friends within the app. Once both people accept the connection, you can see a summary of each other's upcoming rosters: dates, destinations, duty type, and layovers.
What you can see:
Sector overview: dates, destinations, duty type
Upcoming layovers and off-days
Enough detail to spot matching schedules, common layover cities, or potential swap overlap
What you cannot see:
Private notes or personal edits
Any information the other person has not shared
Roster details before the friend request is accepted by both parties
Privacy is opt-in at every step. Roster visibility only begins after both crew members accept the connection. Either person can remove the connection at any time, and access is revoked immediately.
How to Set It Up: Step by Step
Getting your crew network connected on AirRoster takes about two minutes.
Step 1: Open AirRoster on any device (iOS, Android, or web at app.airroster.com)
Step 2: Go to the Friends section within the app
Step 3: Search for a crew member by name or employee ID within supported airlines
Step 4: Send a friend request. The other person receives a notification and must approve it before any roster information is shared
Step 5: Once accepted, you can view a shared summary of each other's upcoming rosters
That is all. No CSV exports, no WhatsApp screenshots, no calling around.
Can I Add Friends From a Different Airline?
Yes, as long as both crew members' airlines are supported by AirRoster. Both people need to be on AirRoster, and both airlines need to be in the supported list. Since AirRoster supports 400+ airlines across India, the UK, USA, the Middle East, Africa, and South-East Asia, most crew will find their airline is already covered.
If your friend's airline is not yet supported, the AirRoster team accepts integration requests and adds new airlines on an ongoing basis.
Practical Uses: How Crew Actually Use This
Layover meetups. Instead of asking "are you in Bangalore on the 14th?", you open AirRoster, check your friend's roster, and see immediately whether they have a layover that overlaps with yours. No messages, no waiting for a reply.
Leave planning. If you are trying to take leave on the same days as a batchmate, you can see their off-days before submitting your leave request. You know whether the dates align before you apply.
Duty swap identification. AirRoster does not process swaps, but it helps you identify where your roster and a colleague's roster overlap in a way that might make a swap possible. You bring the information; the swap goes through your airline's official process.
Keeping track of batchmates. If you trained together and now fly for different airlines, this is the easiest way to stay connected without anyone having to update a spreadsheet or group chat with their latest schedule.
Privacy: What Is and Is Not Visible
Privacy controls are worth understanding clearly before you share your roster.
What is shared | What is not shared |
Flight dates and destinations | Personal notes or edits |
Duty type (layover, off-day, standby) | Any information you have added manually |
Upcoming sector overview | Roster data before the connection is accepted |
You control who can see your roster. Every connection is mutual and opt-in. You can remove any friend at any time, and their access to your roster is revoked immediately.
AirRoster does not notify your airline that you are using the app or that you have shared your roster with a friend.
How Many Friends Can You Add?
There is no limit. You can add as many crew members as you want, from any supported airline. The friends list scales to your network, whether that is three close colleagues or an entire batch of 40 pilots from the same training cohort.
Getting Started
If you are not already on AirRoster:
Go to app.airroster.com
Create a free account (no credit card required)
Select your airline and let your roster load
Share your AirRoster profile with your crew friends and start connecting
The friends feature is available on the free tier. No subscription required to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see my friend's full roster or just a summary? You see sector overview information: dates, destinations, and duty type. Private notes and personal edits are not visible.
Does my friend need to be on the same airline as me? No. You can add friends from any airline supported by AirRoster, which includes 400+ airlines worldwide.
Can someone see my roster without my approval? No. Friend access is strictly opt-in. Your roster is only visible to someone after you accept their request.
What if I change my mind and want to remove a connection? Unfriend them in the app and their access to your roster is removed immediately.
Will my airline know I am sharing my roster? No. AirRoster does not notify your airline about friend connections or roster sharing within the app.
Is there a limit to how many friends I can add? No limit. Add as many crew members as you like.
Does AirRoster help with flight swaps? AirRoster does not process swaps, but the friends roster view lets you identify schedule overlaps that might make a swap feasible. The swap itself goes through your airline's official process.
What if my friend's airline is not supported yet? You can request their airline through AirRoster's support channel. New airline integrations are added on an ongoing basis.
Summary
Coordinating with crew friends across different airlines no longer requires screenshots, WhatsApp chains, or guesswork. AirRoster's friends feature connects crew members across supported airlines, giving both people a shared view of upcoming rosters so layovers can be planned, leave can be coordinated, and batchmates can actually stay in sync.
Privacy is entirely in your hands. Every connection is opt-in, every view is limited to sector summaries, and every removal is instant.
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