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Lack of pilots may have impacted weekend Allegiant delays
By TOM McPARLAND
YOUNGSTOWN
Allegiant Air acknowledged Monday that it is working its way through a pilot-certification backlog that has disrupted some of its planned service, and the airline’s pilots have now weighed in on training and safety concerns surrounding the airline.
The developments followed a week when flights to the Youngstown area were shuttered by weather and operational issues.
Last Thursday, Allegiant delayed a flight from Punta Gorda, Fla., to Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport until Friday, saying low cloud cover prevented aircraft and crews from reaching the airport. The rescheduled flight on Friday was then canceled because of “operational” issues, leaving frustrated customers to make other travel arrangements.
The company also has been experiencing ongoing problems with pilot certification that have impacted service in other circumstances, an airline representative said.
Jessica Wheeler, an Allegiant spokeswoman, said the airline began training pilots last year to fly Airbus planes, which Allegiant currently is introducing into its fleet.
Under Federal Aviation Administration rules, once a pilot is trained to fly a larger aircraft, the pilot’s previous training is negated.
Last year’s shutdown of the federal government stalled the training and certification process, however, leaving a shortage of pilots at the airline’s disposal.
“It has caused some hiccups in our schedule” because the airline’s planned service did not account for the three-week government shutdown, Wheeler said.
The company has minimized the impact to customers by chartering planes and crews from other airlines, as the company continues to work through the backlog, she said.
Allegiant said the certification problem had nothing to do with the cancellations Thursday and Friday.
But a source familiar with the issue, who asked not to be identified, said the certification backlog did play a role in last week’s cancellations.
That view seemed to be supported by the union representing Allegiant pilots, which late Monday alleged that the airline had discontinued its training program.
“Many Allegiant pilots have been delayed in training for months, which we believe is driving a major increase in outsourcing due to the shortage of company pilots to fly scheduled flights and re-route equipment back to hubs and maintenance centers,” said Dan Wells, president of Teamsters Local 1224 in Wilmington, Ohio.
“It’s obvious to us that the major service disruptions over the last several months, ranging from multiple fleet shutdowns, chronic staffing and equipment shortages, significant ramp-up in third-party contracting for scheduled flights and sub-servicing and the shutdown of the company’s training department, all flow from the short-sighted decisions being made at the top,” added Capt. David Bourne, director of the airline division at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Bourne said the pilots would take their concerns to Allegiant stakeholders and influential entities.
Last week, inconvenienced travelers were offered the option of rescheduling to a flight that arrived on time Sunday night. Others chose to take a full refund and switch to another airline, which would have taken them to other airports in the region.
Allegiant will review receipts from displaced travelers for additional transportation costs in excess of the refund and afford appropriate compensation when necessary, Wheeler said.
Dan Dickten, director of aviation at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, said delayed flights are “magnified” at the small airport, where Allegiant practically is the only operating airline. That gives customers fewer options for rescheduling travel, he said. But Dickten said he believes Allegiant will compensate its travelers, as promised.
“I think in the end here Allegiant is going to make good with these people,” he said.
Still, problems associated with Allegiant flights between Youngstown and Florida continued Sunday night into Monday. Flight 893, originally scheduled to depart Youngstown-Warren for Tampa/St. Petersburg on Sunday, was rescheduled as Flight 1893, leaving the local airport at 1:30 p.m. Monday and arriving in Tampa/St. Petersburg at 4:01 p.m.
But that flight was delayed again. According to Allegiant’s website, the flight took off at 3:06 p.m. and was expected to land at 5:46 p.m.
Allegiant also posted information on its website indicating that two other flights were being delayed.
Allegiant has been operating out of the airport in Vienna since 2006, and the airline’s low fares have been instrumental in generating more traffic here over the past few years, Dickten said.
“We’re talking to them about more destinations and more service,” he said.
Recent success has spurred the airport to pursue daily — and even international — service, and officials are having ongoing meetings with three major network carriers, Dickten said.
Contributor: Staff writer Ed Runyan