Monthly operational bulletin, Vol. 17, Issue 9, September 1987

              Monthly Operational Bulletin	:C“.Z“h“. ■»»
OCT l 9 198/
Dear Fellow Employees:	ANIERiCAN WORLD AIRWAYS
Before I explain the Flight Service Department’s staffing plans for 1988, it is important to understand how our present staffing situation developed.
Staffing plans for the summer are developed in late summer or early fall of the previous year. In 1986 we had more than the usual number of open items affecting the planning process. Two of the more significant of these items involved the operation of the Shuttle and the possible acquisition of three additional 747 aircraft.
After considering a number of combinations of the open items, it became apparent that if we did operate the Shuttle and acquire the three 747s, we would have very tight staffing for the summer (line averages on the order of 75 hours and no leaves) but we could manage. If we hired more Flight Attendants and then did not operate the Shuttle or acquire the additional aircraft, it would then be necessary to furlough those Flight Attendants. This would result in spending a great deal of money for recruiting, hiring and training with little benefit to Pan Am’s survival.
In January, higher than planned passenger loads led to excessive short staffing. We corrected our forecasts of passenger loads and by the second quarter we had corrected the staffing levels to only 7 percent understaffing of our wide-bodied flights. By the summer we had staffing plans which enabled us to staff all wide-bodied flights to the maximum for grid, but medical rates climbed and the additional 747’s arrived later than expected.
In order to maximize revenue and not disappoint our passengers, System Control and Maintenance made heroic efforts to fly the schedule even though we were short aircraft. This required a large number of equipment changes, which in many cases, made it necessary to use reserve (and rerouted Flight Attendants in some cases) just to cover FAA minimums. The result was an increase in short staffing to unacceptable rates. We know we can manage the staffing correctly with proper forecasting and planning, but we must fine-tune our operation so that it is more responsive to the changes necessary to keep Pan Am competitive.
Staffing grids are the basis for our planning and for our response to increased passenger loads. Although the grids that exist today for a particular aircraft take into consideration both passenger load and the type of meal service, there are a number of other factors that should be considered in determining the staffing level for each sector.
Continued