FLIGHT OPS FLYER June 4, 1999 **************** ************ SEA B777 Domicile Announced and HNL NPDM Issued ----------------------------------------------- Director-Flight Crew Resources Richard Lung announced this week the opening of a B777 domicile at SEA effective December 1, 1999, following the issuance of a Notice of Proposed Decision Making (NPDM) to ALPA. The NPDM spells out a statement of need, the decision-making time frame and a deadline for the final decision, and ensures a collaborative decision-making process between United and ALPA for determining domicile needs. In a letter dated June 1, Lung said that the SEA B777 domicile will initially open with approximately 17 Captain and 24 First Officer lines. Training for these pilots is expected to begin in August and September. A Contingency Bid form is located on the back of the letter. Flight Crew Resources recently issued two additional NPDMs which are still pending input from the MEC: one to close the HNL B747 base effective Jan. 1, 2000, and one to open a HNL B400 base effective March 2, 2000. Closing the HNL B747 base is driven by the scheduled retirement of B747-100 aircraft and the resulting elimination of B747 flying from HNL to the mainland. A new B400 equipment domicile is required to maintain domicile stability coupled with relatively neutral economics, according to Lung. "While the B777 appears to be the `optimal aircraft' long term for Honolulu, the current Asian crisis and imbalance in our fleet plan drive a need to maintain the B400 in HNL- NRT," Lung explains. "HNL-NRT is able to support a B400 without much revenue/fleet penalty, while freeing up a B777 to do much more valuable service on lower demand international missions. We expect the B400 to stay on the HNL-NRT route for about five years." An official HNL base announcement with contingency bids posted is planned for September or October. Controller Radar Scope Replacement (DSR) at Denver Center --------------------------------------------------------- The controller radar scope replacement program will begin at Denver Center on June 5 and is scheduled to be completed by June 26. It will be a gradual process that will cause DEN taxi-out and enroute times to increase in general in order to satisfy additional miles-in-trail requirements that allow controllers to become familiar with the new equipment. The delay potential will exist until approximately June 12 when a relaxing of all restrictions should be well underway. During this period, pilots should expect extra taxi times and limited approval of non-filed directs. DEN arrivals during non-thunderstorm periods should be normal. Around severe weather, vector mileage will increase exponentially over and above the normal impact. If there is no response on a Denver frequency during thunderstorm irregularities, wait 15-20 seconds before calling again. Countdown to Y2K: Flight Operations Division --------------------------------------------- Along with the rest of the company, Flight Operations is preparing for the year 2000. As part of that goal, the Flight Operations Y2K team recently took an inventory of all items that have a microchip or may be "date aware" and potentially impacted by the rollover from 1999 to 2000. Similar items were grouped together and designated a "work package." To date, Flight Operations has identified 184 work packages covering 935 items. Each item that was determined to be date aware was then tested to see if it was Y2K compliant, and if not, was fixed or replaced. Once fixed, each work package was given gold status. 176, or 96% of the identified work packages are gold status, and the remaining 4% are tracked bi-weekly to ensure they are completed on time. "Many people in the division were part of the effort to identify and work on these items," says Manager of Automation Michele Manoski. "Our thanks to each of them for their commitment to ensuring that Flight Operations is ready for the next millennium." Flight Manager Named at DENFO ----------------------------- DENFO Chief Pilot Captain Joe Swenson has selected Captain Jon Carter as the new Flight Manager at DENFO. This opening was a result of Captain Swenson's promotion to Chief Pilot. Captain Carter joined United in 1978, and has flown the DC-10, B737-200 and B727, and served as a B727 TCA and S/O LCA. Currently he is a Captain on the A320. Captain Carter has a Master's Degree in Management & Supervision from Central Michigan University and served in the United States Air Force. His new position is effective June 7. Flight Manager Opening at LAXFO ------------------------------- As announced in a June 2 Job Posting, Flight Operations is seeking candidates for a Flight Manager opening at LAXFO, to replace Capt. Denny Giesea who is returning to line flying. Flight Manager candidates must have 500 hours experience as a United Captain; LCA experience is preferred. Pilots interested in this position who meet the qualifications should talk to their Chief Pilot and submit a self- nomination form to DENEV-Job Posting by June 12. Welcome Aboard -------------- There was no new-hire pilot class at the Flight Center this week. The number of new hires for 1999 remains at 288. ************************************************************ Flight Operations Communications, WHQVF 847/700-7288 "Flight Ops Flyer" also is available in the United Airlines section of CompuServe under "Pilot Information." ************************************************************