no more aircraft retirements this year
07-06-2012, 04:04 PM
#1
SLI best wishes!
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Joined APC: Feb 2011
Position: B767 Capt
Posts: 399
no more aircraft retirements this year
July 6, 2012
EMPLOYEE BULLETIN: SUMMER OPERATIONS UPDATE
Dear Co-worker:
I want to thank all of you for the work you are doing every day to take care of our customers this summer. June was a challenging month for our operation, and I know it was difficult for many of you. We had frequent irregular operations due to summer storms, extreme heat at many airports that made even regular operations more difficult, high load factors, and we’ve had our own aircraft reliability and crew issues.
While the weather is something we simply have to deal with, I want you to know that we are taking steps to address our reliability and crew issues. This includes the following actions we are taking in July to add resources to our operation:
·******** More spare aircraft – we are increasing spare capability in our 747, 757 and Airbus fleets, including extending leases for aircraft that were scheduled to be returned. In mid-July, we will add a 777 IPTE-configured spare specifically for routes where we fly that aircraft. In August, we plan to free up a 767.
·******** More maintenance resources – we are adding more than 200 mechanics and freed up more than 500 hours of technician time per day to focus on preventive maintenance and reducing the number of out-of-service aircraft. In addition, we are working together to route planes to increase maintenance “touch time” by overnighting aircraft at hubs with the right maintenance capability. We expect this will reduce the need for aircraft swaps and the related customer impact.
·******** More time in crew schedules – we added 15 to 30 minutes for connection times in select pilot and flight attendant crew lines for the August schedule to reduce crew connection delays.
·******** More time and focus for on-time departures – we are adding block time in both our international and domestic schedules and adjusting ground times. Airport Operations is implementing a number of “quick win” actions to speed both departure and arrival handling, including agents working closely with flight attendants to manage carry-on baggage. On subsidiary UA 757s, we previously increased our boarding time from 30 to 45 minutes in recognition of typically longer boarding on that aircraft.
All of these steps add up to more support for running an on-time operation. The leadership across Airport Operations, Flight Operations, Inflight, the Network Operations Center and Tech Ops is working together to improve our operational and crew reliability for the balance of the summer and beyond. We want to support you and enable you to give our customers the best possible service.
We are continuing the work of reconfiguring our flying to ensure that we have the right aircraft in the right market – matching capacity and frequency to customer demand. We started last November and made changes in our domestic schedule in April, May and June. We are still adjusting to aircraft redeployment and the steps we are taking in July will help us in that regard. There will be more changes beginning in September, and we will adjust for those as well.
All of us play an important role in running a safe, reliable airline. If you have ideas or suggestions on other actions we can take to improve reliability and service, please share them with your local leadership team. I want to thank you again for all that you do every day. Although we’ve just finished a difficult month, we are making progress in our goal to build the world’s leading airline.
Please stay safe this summer and look out for each other during this busy time.
Sincerely,
EVP & Chief Operations Officer
EMPLOYEE BULLETIN: SUMMER OPERATIONS UPDATE
Dear Co-worker:
I want to thank all of you for the work you are doing every day to take care of our customers this summer. June was a challenging month for our operation, and I know it was difficult for many of you. We had frequent irregular operations due to summer storms, extreme heat at many airports that made even regular operations more difficult, high load factors, and we’ve had our own aircraft reliability and crew issues.
While the weather is something we simply have to deal with, I want you to know that we are taking steps to address our reliability and crew issues. This includes the following actions we are taking in July to add resources to our operation:
·******** More spare aircraft – we are increasing spare capability in our 747, 757 and Airbus fleets, including extending leases for aircraft that were scheduled to be returned. In mid-July, we will add a 777 IPTE-configured spare specifically for routes where we fly that aircraft. In August, we plan to free up a 767.
·******** More maintenance resources – we are adding more than 200 mechanics and freed up more than 500 hours of technician time per day to focus on preventive maintenance and reducing the number of out-of-service aircraft. In addition, we are working together to route planes to increase maintenance “touch time” by overnighting aircraft at hubs with the right maintenance capability. We expect this will reduce the need for aircraft swaps and the related customer impact.
·******** More time in crew schedules – we added 15 to 30 minutes for connection times in select pilot and flight attendant crew lines for the August schedule to reduce crew connection delays.
·******** More time and focus for on-time departures – we are adding block time in both our international and domestic schedules and adjusting ground times. Airport Operations is implementing a number of “quick win” actions to speed both departure and arrival handling, including agents working closely with flight attendants to manage carry-on baggage. On subsidiary UA 757s, we previously increased our boarding time from 30 to 45 minutes in recognition of typically longer boarding on that aircraft.
All of these steps add up to more support for running an on-time operation. The leadership across Airport Operations, Flight Operations, Inflight, the Network Operations Center and Tech Ops is working together to improve our operational and crew reliability for the balance of the summer and beyond. We want to support you and enable you to give our customers the best possible service.
We are continuing the work of reconfiguring our flying to ensure that we have the right aircraft in the right market – matching capacity and frequency to customer demand. We started last November and made changes in our domestic schedule in April, May and June. We are still adjusting to aircraft redeployment and the steps we are taking in July will help us in that regard. There will be more changes beginning in September, and we will adjust for those as well.
All of us play an important role in running a safe, reliable airline. If you have ideas or suggestions on other actions we can take to improve reliability and service, please share them with your local leadership team. I want to thank you again for all that you do every day. Although we’ve just finished a difficult month, we are making progress in our goal to build the world’s leading airline.
Please stay safe this summer and look out for each other during this busy time.
Sincerely,
EVP & Chief Operations Officer
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