Pilots Running Out Of Allowed Flight time
Continuing what seems to be a trend
this summer... the past few days haven't been real good to
Northwest Airlines passengers. Once again, the carrier, fresh from
bankruptcy reorganization, has had to cancel a large number of it
flights at the end of the month because of a pilot shortage due to
pilots reaching their allowed flight time limits.
NWA's pilot labor contract says pilots can schedule up to 90
hours of flight time each month and has a provision for a little
voluntary overtime, according to USA Today.
The carrier has been blaming the weather for running the
flight-time clock run out. As ANN has reported, weather
related delays, such as being stuck on a runway awaiting departure,
all eat into a pilots allowable flight hours.
The Air Line Pilots Association says the problem is due not only
to such delays, but to management changing the work rules and
pushing pilots past reasonable limits.
In the latter part of June, NWA cancelled more than 1,000
flights because of a pilot shortage that affected thousands of
passengers.
Northwest spokesperson Roman Blahoski said Monday NWA completed
96 percent of its weekend flights and fully expected to complete
97.2 percent of its schedule on Monday.
The industry standard target is 98 percent.
According to data gathered by USA Today from FlightStats.com,
NWA cancelled 76 flights Sunday, or 5.6 percent of those tracked by
the online tracking service.
NWA has said it is implementing changes to correct the problem
such as reducing its flight schedule by three percent, beginning in
August, recalling laid-off pilots, and changing the way it
schedules its pilots.
The ALPA has accused the carrier of laying off too many pilots
during the bankruptcy then scheduling too aggressively to
manipulate its cost and revenue picture to the bankruptcy
court.
The ALPA said it forecasted the pilot shortage and advised
management well in advance, but that warning was ignored.
Wade Blaufuss, a spokesman for the ALPA and NWA 757 first
officer said the current work environment has discouraged its 385
furloughed pilots from coming back to work. He said most of those
that have been called back have declined.
The union insists it is available to work with NWA management to
solve the problems.
"We are the ultimate investors in Northwest Airlines. Our
careers and the futures of our families are tied to the success of
this airline," NWA ALPA Spokesman Capt. Monty Montgomery said.
"Northwest pilots will continue to focus on safety and work hard
for the success of our airline."