Monthly operational bulletin, Vol. 17, Issue 7, July 1987

              Monthly Operational Bulletin
To:	All Pan Am Flight Attendants
From: In-Flight Service Headquarters - MIA
LIBRARY
Dear Fellow Employees:
JUL 3 i 1987
PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAY
We are less than halfway through the peak travel season for Pan Am and loads are continuing above projection. After last summer’s events in Europe which discouraged American travelers from crossing the Atlantic, this summer they are flying—and many of them have chosen Pan Am.
This good news has brought with it difficulties for some of us. The July bidlines provided maximum staffing (per grid) on more than 90 percent of our flights, with adequate reserves and zero line holders available for uplifts, as needed. Yet too many flights are departing with fewer Flight Attendants on board than desired to provide the level of service we all want to provide.
There has also been more than an average amount of rerouting. Much of the rerouting is indirectly caused by the same positive reason: our passenger loads continue to exceed forecasts. When all flights are experiencing high load factors and all aircraft are fully utilized, our ability to deal with schedule disruptions (caused by weather, a higher than normal number of mechanical problems, or labor disputes such as the French Air Traffic Controllers) is markedly limited. When load factors are lower and schedule disruptions occur, we can cancel and consolidate flights or “protect” our passengers on other airlines. Now when flights are full, there is no space for our passengers on other Pan Am flights and very limited space on other carriers. Therefore, we cannot cancel or consolidate flights; we have to operate the flight in order that our passengers get to their destination, leading to schedule disruptions. This can mean either long delays or equipment substitutions which, in turn, frequently result in short staffing or rerouting Flight Attendants from downline stations. Home base rest periods become disrupted, and more trips are dropped requiring more Flight Attendants to cover the flying. Eventually, the number of reserves and zero line holders are reduced to a level so low that we are required to hold back reserves to ensure that those flights which are staffed to FAA minimums will not be cancelled because of a last-minute medical or “no show.” The result you are all aware of — flights with fewer Flight Attendants than are planned or desired.
We are continuing to try to minimize the problems you face. In August and September the number of reserves has been increased above the level normally planned to cover a medical rate which is almost twice as high as it had been for the first five months of the year. The number of zero line holders has also been increased and intra-European commercial deadheading is being utilized to cover the schedule disruptions and to minimize short staffing.
We must improve our staffing efficiencies but there will continue to be flights where staffing is below the desired level. We need your help in ensuring our passenger is the last person to be inconvenienced when “things” go wrong. We also need to hear when you see a way to help correct a problem. If you can continue to accomplish this, we will have the time to solve those problems.
In a few months we may be looking at lighter passenger loads. We need to do all we can for the passengers we have today so that they will be back tomorrow. We need you to keep providing a level of service that transcends problems. We, in turn, will continue to focus our efforts on solving your problems. This peak summer season is important—to Pan Am and to each of us.
J. Robert Juliano