United Forced to Scratch More Flights
So much for flying the friendly skies.
United Airlines has decided to cancel up to 3% of its flights in September and October, or about 2,000 flights a month, following several days of schedule cutbacks because of weather concerns, an ongoing pilot shortage and air traffic control system woes.
It was not immediately clear how many flights in and out of Los Angeles will be affected. United accounts for about 25% of all flights through Los Angeles International Airport.
United has urged passengers to call the company’s information line at (800) 824-6200, or check its Web site (https://www.united.com) on the day of travel to make sure their flights have not been canceled. Because of the busy summer season, it may be difficult for passengers to find same-day alternate bookings on other carriers.
LAX spokeswoman Diana Sanchez said the airport was among the least affected by the recent cancellations. “We don’t have anything out of the ordinary going on. Traffic is flowing smoothly,” she said.
United, the world’s largest airline, had previously trimmed its schedule by 4,800 flights for May through August. It operates about 2,400 flights a day.
The cancellations have drawn complaints from passengers and legislators and led Rono Dutta, United’s president, to issue a public apology. “We are anguished by the pain and suffering these operational difficulties are causing to our customers and front-line employees,” he said in a statement.
United has cited heavy cloud conditions in San Francisco, as well as storms in the Midwest and along the East Coast as the reason for some of the cancellations since Saturday. But United also said its pilots, who are in the midst of protracted contract negotiations, have been calling in sick and refusing overtime. The pilots have responded that there is no organized campaign to call in sick and that the airline has failed to hire enough flight crews.
The Air Line Pilots Assn., which represents the carrier’s 10,000 pilots, and United’s parent UAL Corp. have said they hope to have a deal by Labor Day. They are meeting five days a week, with help from the National Mediation Board, according to an airline spokesman.
United’s biggest hub is at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, which one radio station there this week dubbed “Camp O’Hare” because of the scores of stranded passengers sleeping on cots in the terminals.
Several members of Congress asked Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater in a letter to investigate the cause of the airline’s persistent scheduling problems.
United ranked last among top 10 U.S. airlines in on-time arrivals in May, the most recent month for which Department of Transportation data are available, with just 57% of its flights arriving on time.
