"Strike by UAL's attendants could strand fliers"

Friday, July 1, 2005

Strike by UAL's attendants could strand fliers
Busy holiday period may prove tough for travelers to find alternate flights
By Alison Granito
Crain's Chicago (IL) Business


With air travel expected to be heavy and airlines booked solid over the
holiday weekend, any strikes by United Airlines flight attendants that
resulted in service interruptions could leave passengers stranded.

United's chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants said yesterday that
random walk outs and strikes that target specific flights or locations may
start as early as today, after the bankrupt airline turned their pension
plan over to the government yesterday.

Union officials yesterday declined to specify when and where strikes might
come, calling potential targets a "closely guarded secret," and continued to
maintain their silence today. 

"All I can say is that they may begin at any time," said union spokeswoman
Sara Nelson Dela Cruz.

Locally, United operates more than 600 flights per day out of O'Hare
International Airport, its largest hub. Along with American Airlines, which
also operates a hub at O'Hare, the troubled carrier accounts for a
significant number of flights out of the airport. 

A spokesman for the Chicago Department of Aviation said O'Hare has put extra
customer service personnel on alert to assist passengers in the event there
is an interruption in service that affects the airport.

"Because of the nature of the strikes themselves, there's not a lot of
preparation we can do," said Dan Curtin.

Mr. Curtin also said that the airline has told him that it would do its best
to not to leave passengers stranded in the event of cancellations and "do
its best to get passengers where they need to go," possibly diverting them
to other carriers.

"We will do whatever we can to accommodate our customers needs," said United
spokeswoman Jean Medina, noting that the company would consider illegal any
activity by the union that resulted in disruption of service.

The airline is gearing up to handle a record travel weekend, with load rates
of more than 90 percent forecasted over the weekend and that the airline is
"staffed appropriately" to handle the volume of passengers, she said.

Ms. Medina added that the airline has seen no indication of any disruptions
so far.

American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said the carrier's bookings
were "chock-a-block full," over the next two or three weeks, showing
passenger load rates of 80 to 90 percent most days, meaning passengers on a
cancelled United flight may have a rough time finding an open spot.

"The bottom line is, our seats are really, really full this summer," Ms.
Fagan said.

As for the effect that cancellations could have on flights into and out of
O'Hare, Curtin said that any cancellations would be unlikely to affect the
operations of carriers other than United.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said that the agency
will monitor to make sure that all flights have a the required number of
flight attendants on board for safety purposes.

The FAA has a contingency plan in place in the "event that there is any kind
of service disruption on an airline," whether it stems from a computer
system failure or labor strife, according to Mr. Molinaro.

He added cancelled flights that left passengers at the gates would be an
"airport issue."

However, when an unusually high number bankrupt US Airways flight attendants
and other employees organized a "sick out" over December's busy holiday
travel period, the move had far reaching effects, snarling air traffic and
leaving many travelers stranded at the carrier's hub in Philadelphia.

Also today, United announced it is on track to emerge from bankruptcy this
fall and that it plans to file its reorganization plan next month.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************