WSJ: Singapore Air Postpones New Tokyo A380 route; U.S. Pilot Unions Push for Layovers Away From Tokyo

Singapore Airlines Ltd. on Wednesday became the latest air carrier to implement contigency plans in the midst of Japan's natural disasters and radiation fears, indefinitely postponing the start of new Airbus A380 service between Los Angeles and Tokyo.

Slated to launch a long-awaited daily flight between the two cities in less than two weeks -- featuring an A380 superjumbo with enhanced cabin amenities the carrier said a drop in traffic prompted it to delay those plans.

Beginning on Thursday, Singapore Airlines also said it will end crew layovers in Tokyo on its current Boeing 747 flights from Singapore to Tokyo, and then continuing to Los Angeles. The aircraft will land in Tokyo in both directions, but then fly to Osaka to change crews before heading for Los Angeles International Airport. The airline said the goal is to protect flight crews, and safeguard their rest, by minimizing the impact of continuing earthquakes.

In the days since last Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami created radiation hazards at the stricken facility, a few foreign carriers have established remote layover points for their crews or otherwise altered their flying schedules. Australia's Qantas Airways is routing its Tokyo flights via Hong Kong so that crews will not stay in Tokyo overnight. Austrian Airlines is making stopovers in Seoul on the way to Tokyo. Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa is diverting flights away from Tokyo to Osaka and Nagoya via Seoul. Italy's Alitalia plans to divert all Tokyo flights to Osaka.

The idea is to give pilots and flight attendants less time on the ground near Tokyo, to ensure that they get adequate rest and aren't stressed by earthquake aftershocks and fears of a nuclear meltdown.

Union officials representing pilots at United Airlines and Continental Airlines said they have asked their employer, United Continental Holdings Inc., to allow pilots flying to Tokyo to spend their rest periods at a remote layover point, farther from the capital and the crippled nuclear power station roughly 150 miles to the north.

But many airlines that serve Japan's capital city are maintaining their normal schedules, and their crews are spending their rest periods at hotels in and around Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the pilots unions at AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. haven't asked those carriers to create remote layover points, at least for now.

Capt. Sam Mayer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association union at American, said Wednesday that “we see no reason to recommend that we layover somewhere else, at least at this point.” But the APA has suggested to American that pilots who want to be removed from their assigned trips to Tokyo be able to do so without penalty.

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the Continental and United aviators, has asked for new layover arrangements and pushed for pilots to be able to refuse Japan flights without repercussions. So far, United Continental has declined and continues to house the cockpit crews at a hotel near Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. Immediately after the earthquake, the company sent managers to Japan to assist employees there. As part of its contingency planning, United parked a spare 747 jumbo jet at Narita in case an evacuation is necessary.

The pilots at Continental and United currently are in negotiations over a new joint labor agreement, following the merger last fall.

Jay Pierce, chairman of the Continental branch, said earthquake aftershocks are keeping pilots awake, along with the stress of worrying about radiation leaking from the crippled power plant and how they would fare in an evacuation. He said he has suggested the pilots fly as passengers to Continental’s crew base in Guam, three hours away, after they land their planes in Tokyo, and overnight in Guam. He said other possibilities include overnights in Osaka, Taipei or Seoul.

“A lot of other airlines are doing this,” Capt. Pierce said. “The only reason not to shift to another city is because of the cost. We want to do everything we can to protect the flights going into Narita. But let’s not put the pilots in harm’s way. It’s an expense worth incurring.”

He and Capt. Garry (cq) Kravit, vice chairman of the United ALPA branch, said they believe some pilots have refused assignments to Japan. The union has asked United Continental to let those pilots withdraw from their assigned flights without discipline or financial penalty. “It’s our hope the company will listen to our concerns,” Capt. Kravit said.

A United spokeswoman confirmed that the pilots have asked for new layover arrangements. She said she can’t comment on personnel matters such as missed trips. “The safety of our employees is always foremost,” she said. The company is in close contract with the Federal Aviation Administration and other federal agencies, and is closely monitoring the situation to Japan. Aside from its transient flight crews, United has 1,000 employees in that country.

在日本发生自然灾害并引起核辐射担忧之际，新加坡航空(Singapore Airlines Ltd.)周三成为最新一家实施应急计划的航空公司。它无限期推迟了新型空客A380飞机在洛杉矶至东京航线上开始服役的时间。

相关报导代表美联航(United Airlines)和大陆航空(Continental Airlines)飞行员的工会人员说，他们已要求这些飞行员的雇主联合大陆控股公司(United Continental Holdings Inc.)允许飞往东京的飞行员在某个远离东京的停留点度过休息时间，进一步远离东京和东京以北约150英里（241公里）的受损核电站。

但很多有飞往东京航班的航空公司仍维持了原有安排，其机组人员也是在东京内外的酒店里度过休息时间。

与此同时，AMR Corp.旗下美利坚航空公司(American Airlines)和达美航空公司(Delta Air Lines Inc.)的飞行员工会尚未要求这两家公司在日本设置远离东京的机组人员停留点，至少暂时没有。

周三，美国飞行员联合会（Allied Pilots Association）的发言人迈尔（Sam Mayer）机长说，至少在这个节点上，我们认为没有理由建议航空公司让机组人员在别处过夜。但飞行员联合会同时建议，不愿执行飞往东京任务的飞行员应该免受惩罚。

代表大陆航空和美联航飞行员的航空公司飞行员协会（Air Line Pilots Association）已经要求这两家公司为飞东京航班的机组人员设立新的停留点，并要求对不愿执行飞日本航班任务的飞行员免予惩罚。到目前为止，联合大陆控股公司仍拒绝接受飞行员协会的要求，并继续让飞行员在东京成田国际机场（Narita International Airport）附近的酒店留宿。地震发生之后，该公司立即派遣经理到日本协助在当地的员工。作为其应急计划的一部分，联合大陆控股公司已经将一架备用的波音747大型喷气式客机停在成田机场，以备万一需要进行人员疏散时使用。

大陆航空和美联航的飞行员目前正在就一项新的联合劳工协议展开谈判，两家航空公司于去年秋天合并。

航空公司飞行员协会大陆航空分会的主席皮尔斯（Jay Pierce）说，余震让飞行员无法入睡。此外飞行员的压力还包括担心受损核电站的核泄漏以及在疏散时如何应对。皮尔斯说他建议飞行员在东京降落后以旅客身份乘机前往大陆航空在关岛的飞行基地过夜，航程约三小时。他又说其它方案包括在大阪、台北或首尔过夜。

机长皮尔斯说，很多航空公司都在这么做；惟一阻止这种做法的理由是成本因素，我们想尽一切可能保护飞往成田机场的航班，但我们不能把飞行员置于危险的境地，这项花费是值得的。

皮尔斯和航空公司飞行员协会美联航分会的副主席克莱维特（Garry Kravit）说，他们知道一些飞行员拒绝执行飞日本航班的任务，该工会已经要求联合大陆控股公司允许这些飞行员退出原定的飞行计划，并不对他们进行纪律处罚或罚款。克莱维特说，我们希望公司能听取我们的关切。

联合大陆控股公司的发言人证实，飞行员确实要求为他们安排新的停留点。这名发言人说她无法就“错过航班”等个人事由发表评论。她说，我们员工的安全总是最重要的。该公司与美国联邦航空管理局（Federal Aviation Administration）以及其它联邦机构保持着密切联系，也在密切关注日本的形势发展。除了短暂停留的机组人员，联合大陆控股公司在日本还有1,000名雇员。