Wednesday, April 18, 2007

More local flights are being canceled
Pilot shortage, weather to blame
By Alex Davis
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal


A growing number of flights from Louisville International Airport are being canceled, partly due to a national shortage of pilots.

Almost 3 percent of all departing flights have been canceled so far this year, the highest rate since the same period in 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

One regional carrier, Republic Airways, has canceled at least 22 flights out of Louisville since last November because it hasn't had enough pilots or flight attendants. Warren Wilkinson, a spokesman for Republic, said some major carriers are hiring pilots for the first time in years, making it tougher to recruit.

"We're adjusting our hiring and training programs to keep pace with the higher demand," Wilkinson said in an interview. "We believe we'll get ahead of it in the next few months."

Republic operates flights from Louisville for Delta, Continental and United among other companies. Of the carrier's 2,297 local departures since November, a total of 80 flights -- 3.5 percent -- were canceled. Weather was the main culprit, but Wilkinson said there were almost no cancellations due to staffing before the start of this year.

Rande Swann, a spokeswoman for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, said the agency doesn't have much control over delays and cancellations, and its best option is to recruit more carriers to the airport. That boosts the number of available seats, which in turn gives passengers more options if they are bumped.

The pilot shortage has become more of a problem over the past year or two as air traffic has recovered from the slump after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association, which represents carriers that fly smaller aircraft.

Federal statistics show the number of canceled departures from Louisville varies widely. Since the start of this year, American Eagle has canceled 4.9 percent of its departures from Louisville, and SkyWest has canceled 12.6 percent. Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, reported just 13 cancellations, or 1.2 percent of its 1,053 flights overall.

A series of winter storms that struck the Denver area was a major factor behind the cancellations at SkyWest, said Sabrena Suite-Mangum, a spokeswoman for the Utah-based carrier. She said the company has canceled flights due to staffing issues, but specific numbers for Louisville weren't available yesterday.

Mark Giuffre, a spokesman for Louisville-based UPS Airlines, said the company does not have a staffing problem and cited the pilots' pay as a reason. About one-third of the 2,800 pilots flying for UPS are based in Louisville.

Indianapolis-based Republic Airways has a staff of 289 pilots, flight attendants and mechanics in Louisville. The company is planning a local recruiting event next month.

Kit Darby, president of Air Inc., an Atlanta-based career service for airline pilots, said union contracts can make it difficult for airlines to change salaries. He said some carriers are taking pilots with less flying experience.

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The end quote or reference by K. Darby really cracked me up ... does he REALLY think that a union would be unwilling to negotiate a RAISE prior to a contract amendable date ? I doubt it ...

I am sure he was misquoted or taken out of context ... since the most logical explanation would be that union contracts prohibit companies from offering a 5% raise in EXCHANGE for a reduction in benefits, vacation, work rules, etc ...