"It's been a rough evening. We had to divert some flights from Philadelphia, and one plane that stopped at Philly couldn't get out. Have you any idea what that entails?" We confessed we did not.
"It means that the station manager at Philadelphia has to feed 150 people and then get them to Newark, which is their destination."
"But how?" we asked, "especially if the airport is closed?"
"Bus or train, the manager has contacts with the local bus companies and by the time they finish eating in the terminal dining room there'll be four buses lined up outside. But meanwhile the manager's got a couple of hundred passengers who can't get their flights out." She smiled, "I'd rather have this job any time! Now let me tell you what I do!"
Between phone calls she told us her responsibility was to keep track of all the aircraft and crews coming into or leaving the airport. If an airplane is delayed because of weather or a mechanical problem, she informs everyone concerned about the delays and changes in plans. If an airplane has to be taken out of service, it is her job to order a substitute, which might mean combining flights or even canceling another flight if no back-up plane is available.
If bad weather affects air traffic, delaying the estimated time a plane will arrive or takeoff or requiring an unscheduled stop en route, it is she who must think it all out and tell everyone who needs to know. When an extra airplane must be made available for a flight, she must first take into consideration what servicing or maintenance requirements may apply to that aircraft. For example, if it is due for line maintenance after five more hours of flight time it cannot be flown on a six-hour flight.
This is not all! She also handles crew scheduling when something goes wrong and in doing this must consider who is sick, on vacation, having a day off, or has used up flight hours. Then there is the problem of seniority bids, for she cannot schedule a pilot to fly a New York to Boston trip if he has bid and been checked out on a New York to Houston run.
"Of course I don't do all this alone," she confessed. "There are many others, who help, but the person who sits here is in charge and if anything goes wrong, they know who is to blame."
After we thanked Ms. Philips she directed us to our next interview with Edward Carlino, the meteorologist on duty, who was also expecting us.
METEOROLOGIST
The meteorologist's small office was adjacent to the flight operations office. Weather charts covered most of the walls and two teletype machines stood in one corner of the room. As we introduced ourselves one of them started to chatter.
"That's the weather facsimile machine," Mr. Carlino explained. "See, it prints out an exact reproduction of the latest weather map that has been prepared in Washington. The other one prints messages that come in from all over the system. Many of them give weather or other information I can use in my work."
He motioned for us to sit and told us that his job was to analyze weather data and prepare up-to-date weather reports for the flight dispatcher, the pilots, and others who need weather information like the ramp manager who wants to know if it's going to snow because it raises the dickens with his people. Actually, as you have probably already learned, one of my most important responsibilities is to work with the pilots and help them prepare their flight plans. What we are always looking for is a way to fly the most direct route but one which will have calm weather to ensure a smooth ride and, if possible, avoid headwinds because they require more fuel. It's a large order, and sitting in this little office it sometimes takes a bit of detective work to find out exactly how we should route a plane all the way from New York to Seattle or Mexico.
A college degree with a major in meteorology is necessary to qualify for this job, Mr. Carlino told us. "As a matter of fact," he added, "some airlines may also require previous experience with the United States Weather Bureau or one of the military weather services."
OTHER POSITIONS IN THE DEPARTMENT
"Since it's getting late and the general operations offices are closed, could you give us some idea of the overall organization one might expect to find in an airline operations department?" we asked Mr. Carlino.
"Let's see, I would say that you could pretty well divide the department into two main parts: aircraft sales and services and flight operations. The aircraft sales and services division sells surplus airplanes to other airlines and arranges to provide maintenance and other services for airlines that do not compete.
"This is an accepted practice in air transportation, and it makes a lot of sense. Suppose a large airline flies to Kansas City, which is also served by a small regional carrier. It's uneconomic for both companies to duplicate all their services. Thus the larger company could sell tickets for the regional carrier, handle their passenger boarding and baggage, as well as service their airplanes. All the regional carrier would have to do is provide its own airplanes and flight crews.
"As for the flight department, you will usually find various specialists heading up divisions such as crew schedule, flight dispatch, operations analysis, flight instruction, flight administration, and perhaps more, depending on how much a company wants to break down the operations functions.
"By the way, I should mention that we employ radio operators who may be hired after receiving special training in a technical school and obtaining their radio operators' licenses. An operator is always on duty to take messages from the pilots and to contact them if necessary. Each airplane has its own code number, and by typing that number into a key-board connected to the radio transmitter, the radio operator can call that particular plane without bothering other aircraft. Many airlines also use the services of Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated and a nonprofit company that provides similar services to the airlines.
"One of the most important divisions is the flight training division. Which reminds me," and he sat up straight, tilting his chair back slightly, "you should make some notes about the flight instructor. Let me tell you about that position."
