Pentagon mobilizes commercial air fleet

[Hatu]

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Saturday it was activating a rarely used program that would mobilize scores of U.S. commercial aircraft to meet heightened airlift needs ahead of a possible war with Iraq.
The program is a standby arrangement that lets the U.S. Transportation Command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, call on as many as hundreds of contractually committed aircraft and their crews to supplement military airlift capabilities.
Twenty-two airlines and their 78 commercial aircraft -- 47 passengers aircraft and 31 wide-body cargo carriers -- were covered under the Stage 1 activation cleared by Rumsfeld.
Stage 1 is the lowest activation level. Stage 2 would involve more aircraft for a major regional conflict and Stage 3 could be declared for a full-fledged national mobilization
The passenger participants in the initial stage are American Airlines (NYSE:AMR - News), American Trans Air (AMT.UL), Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL - News), Delta Air Lines (NYSEAL - News), Hawaiian Airlines (AMEX:HA - News), North American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Omni Air International, United Airlines, US Airways and World Airways, the Transportation Command said.
Under the program, the airlines contract to provide aircraft to the military in exchange for Pentagon peacetime business. Honda said the first such flights by aircraft other than those volunteered for military missions would begin on Tuesday.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030208/iraq_usa_ai...airfleet_1.html

 

[trvlr64]

Well there are a lot of planes parked in the desert........they can take as many as they need. But knowing how our government works they will take the planes that are currently flying the public.

Think BUSHY and crew will use the parked planes?

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Heh Heh...the way things go at AA, half the troops could be left standing at the gate with a voucher towards free travel for up to one year.

But I digress...

 

[SFOJFK]

How many of those parked planes have C/D checks coming up on them? If they do, who's going to pay to put them back up in the air for CRAF?

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Aircraft has to be CRAF certified in advance. If a carrier is going to desert park an aircraft that had CRAF certification, it must be removed from the CRAF certification list and either replaced with another "active" ship, or not at all.

One of the ideas behind CRAF is that the aircraft can be mobilized quickly, with one day's notice. Desert parked aircraft doesn't meet that criteria.

 

[lownslow]

[blockquote]
----------------
On 2/11/2003 216 AM SFOJFK wrote:

How many of those parked planes have C/D checks coming up on them? If they do, who's going to pay to put them back up in the air for CRAF?
----------------
[/blockquote]

If I'm not mistaken, don't the airlines have to provide the aircraft at their cost? That's what the big fat checks are for every year, no? I know that they are required to have them ready for operations in 24 hours, so if they're planning on relying on aircraft in the desert, they're in trouble. Of course, they could replace an aircraft going out for CRAF use with one pulled from the desert, but that I can guarantee you is a cost the airline will have to eat.

 

[WingNaPrayer]

USAF Fact Sheet
Civil Reserve Air Fleet

A unique and significant part of the nation's mobility resources is the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF). Selected aircraft from U.S. airlines, contractually committed to CRAF, support Department of Defense airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of military aircraft.

The CRAF has three main segments: international, national and aeromedical evacuation. The international segment is further divided into the long-range and short-range sections and the national segment into the domestic and Alaskan sections. Assignment of aircraft to a segment depends on the nature of the requirement and the performance characteristics needed.

The long-range international section consists of passenger and cargo aircraft capable of transoceanic operations. The role of these aircraft is to augment the Air Mobility Command's (AMC) long-range intertheater C-141s, C-5s and C-17s during periods of increased airlift needs, from minor contingencies up through full national defense emergencies.
Medium-sized passenger and cargo aircraft make up the short-range international section supporting near offshore airlift requirements.

The aircraft in the Alaskan section provide airlift within U.S. Pacific Command's area of responsibility. The domestic section is designed to satisfy increased DOD airlift requirements in the U.S. during an emergency.

The aeromedical evacuation segment assists in the evacuation of casualties from operational theaters to hospitals in the continental United States. These aircraft are also used to return medical supplies and medical crews to the theater of operations. Kits containing litter stanchions, litters and other aeromedical equipment are used to convert civil B-767 passenger aircraft into air ambulances.

The airlines contractually pledge aircraft to the various CRAF segments, ready for activation when needed. To provide incentives for civil carriers to commit these aircraft to the CRAF program and to assure the United States of adequate airlift reserves, AMC awards peacetime airlift contracts to civilian airlines which offer aircraft to the CRAF. The International Airlift Services contract is the largest of these. For fiscal year 1999, the guaranteed portion of the contract is $345 million. AMC estimates that throughout fiscal year 1999 it will also award more than $362 million in additional business that is not guaranteed.

To join CRAF, carriers must maintain minimum long-range international fleet commitment levels (30 percent for passenger and 15 percent for cargo). Aircraft committed must be U.S.-registered aircraft capable of overwater operations, at least 3,500 nautical mile range and 10 hours per day utilization rate. Carriers must also commit and maintain at least four complete crews for each aircraft.
Short-range international section aircraft must be capable of overwater operations and at least a 1,500 nautical mile range. National segment aircraft must be capable of carrying 75 passengers or 32,000 pounds (14,515 kilograms) of cargo. Carriers with aircraft too small to be eligible for the CRAF program are issued a certificate of technical ineligibility so they can compete for government airlift business.
As of Oct. 1, 1998, 35 carriers and 657 aircraft were enrolled in the CRAF. This includes 573 aircraft in the international segment (494 in the long-range international section and 79 in the short-range international section), and 56 and 28 aircraft, respectively, in the national and aeromedical evacuation segments. These numbers are subject to change monthly.

Three stages of incremental activation allow for tailoring an airlift force suitable for the contingency at hand. Stage I is for minor regional crises, Stage II would be used for major regional contingencies and Stage III for periods of national mobilization.

The commander in chief, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), with approval of the secretary of defense, is the activation authority for all three stages of CRAF. During a crisis, if AMC has a need for additional aircraft, it would request USTRANSCOM to take steps to activate the appropriate CRAF stage.
Each stage of the CRAF activation is only used to the extent necessary to provide the amount of civil augmentation airlift needed by DOD. When notified of call-up, the carrier response time to have its aircraft ready for a CRAF mission is 24 to 48 hours after the mission is assigned by AMC. The air carriers continue to operate and maintain the aircraft with their resources; however, AMC controls the aircraft missions.

Safety is the paramount concern, and numerous procedures are in effect to ensure that the air carriers with which AMC contracts afford the highest level of safety to DOD passengers. Prior to receiving a contract, DOD carriers must demonstrate that they have provided substantially equivalent and comparable commercial service for one year prior to flying for DOD. All carriers must be fully certified Federal Aviation Administration carriers and meet the stringent standards of federal aviation regulations pertaining to commercial airlines (FARS Part 121).

A DOD survey team, composed of experienced AMC pilots and skilled maintenance personnel, performs an on-site inspection of the carriers. This team conducts a comprehensive inspection that includes carrier's aircraft, training facilities, crew qualifications, maintenance procedures and quality control practices to maximize the likelihood that the carrier would safely perform for DOD. After passing this survey, the carrier is certified as DOD-approved.

AMC analysts then continue to monitor the carrier's safety record, operations and maintenance status, contract performance, financial condition and management initiatives, summarizing significant trends in a comprehensive review every six months. In addition to this in-depth review, there are several other surveillance initiatives. These include safety preflight inspections of commercial aircraft by DOD designated inspectors, periodic cockpit observations on operational flights by highly experienced pilots from AMC's Air Carrier Survey and Analysis Division, and an increase in the frequency of on-site surveys. These initiatives and the surveys are further supplemented by an open flow of information on all contract carriers between AMC and the FAA through established liaison officers.

The following air carriers are members of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet:

Long-Range International Section:

Air Transport International
American International Airways
American Airlines
American Trans Air
Arrow Air
Continental Airlines
Delta Airlines
DHL Airways
Emery Worldwide
Evergreen International
Federal Express Airlines
Fine Airlines
North American Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Polar Air Cargo
Sun Country Airlines
Tower Air
Trans Continental Airlines
United Airlines
United Parcel Service
World Airways

Short-Range International Section:

Alaska Airlines
American Trans Air
DHL Airways
Evergreen International
Express One
Miami Air International
Sun Country Airlines
Sun World
USAir Shuttle

Aeromedical Evacuation Segment:

Delta Airlines
USAir

Domestic Section:

America West Express
Reno Air
Southwest Airlines
Alaskan Section:
Northern Air Cargo
Reeve Aleutian
Lynden Air Cargo


All Data Current as of May 1999

 

[AAquila]

Is Sun Country still around? They made the list twice.

Another question, why wasn't TWA included in May of 99. Just curious.

 

[MiAAmi]

delete

 

[WingNaPrayer]

[blockquote]
----------------
On 2/11/2003 9:59:06 AM AAquila wrote:

Is Sun Country still around? They made the list twice.

Another question, why wasn't TWA included in May of 99. Just curious.
----------------
[/blockquote]

Sun Country is still around, my nephew flew them last Christmas between PHX and MSP - 275.00/RT. They are owned and operated by Minnesota Airlines, LLC, In 1999 their fleet consisted of a lot of DC10s - Now their fleet consists mostly of 737-800.

Don't know why TWA wasn't included, without looking, were they in bankruptcy at that time? Or perhaps they had just come out of one and hadn't re-applied for CRAF.

 

[Oliver Stone''s Apprentice]

Folks, please...

[font size=4]Do not post anything specific about CRAF missions being operated by AA or other carriers. [/font]

That type of information is confidential, and has no business being discussed outside of work, let alone posted to internet chat rooms and discussion forums...

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Buddy, pull your head out of that dark cave. Nothing has been posted here that isn't already

PUBLIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE ALL OVER THE INTERNET!​

This information isn't exactly rated under national security you know.

http://www.af.mil/news/factsheets/Civil_Re..._Air_Fleet.html

http://www.af.mil for a wealth of information on CRAF and other interesting things, which, it appears is unknown to eolesen, is public information and is available to ANYONE with a computer and an internet connection.

 

[FrugalFlyer]

[blockquote]
----------------
On 2/11/2003 7:32:16 PM WingNaPrayer wrote:

Buddy, pull your head out of that dark cave. Nothing has been posted here that isn't already

PUBLIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE ALL OVER THE INTERNET!​

This information isn't exactly rated under national security you know.


http://www.af.mil/news/factsheets/Civil_Re..._Air_Fleet.html


http://www.af.mil for a wealth of information on CRAF and other interesting things, which, it appears is unknown to eolesen, is public information and is available to ANYONE with a computer and an internet connection.
----------------
[/blockquote]

eolesen was / is trying to say don't post anything 'SPECIFIC' about the CRAF on the internet (like somebody did at the USAirways board)

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Nah, he was just dictating again. Information about the government calling up the Civil Reserve Air Fleet has been all over the news. Anyone who might have information that would be considered specific enough that it would constitute a national security breach if it were repeated, wouldn't waste time visiting this little message board where a hand full of posters do all the yappin'

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Yup yup! Gotta love them republicans, dont'cha?