wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin) (08/21/90)
From: Will Martin <wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL> I haven't seen much news in recent days, so if this is old and duplicate info, my apologies. I thought it was of interest and maybe wasn't widely known: A good friend of ours works for the USAF at Scott AFB in Illinois, in the organization (I think it's part of the USAF Logistics Systems Command) that procures air-transport services. They are in the process of executing the call-up of the civil air fleet resources to supplement the military's own airlift capabilities in flying men and materiel to Saudi Arabia. So far they are concentrating on explicitly cargo aircraft only, but, as and if things get worse, they could begin calling on passenger aircraft from regular airlines (which would have their seats stripped out and become cargo planes). Right now, the main organizations affected will be companies like Federal Express and UPS that have their own fleets of cargo aircraft. So you may not be getting "overnight" delivery any more in a few days or so. I remarked to her that it probably would have been in the USAF's best interest if there *had* been a UPS strike -- that fleet would have been sitting idle, and the USAF could have stepped in and commandeered all the aircraft for the duration. (Probably some of the UPS aircrews would be in the Reserves, too, and could be called up to fly the aircraft.) Right now, these carriers are being instructed to deliver "n" aircraft of type or capbility "y" with crews to location "x"; if they don't comply, there are various legal steps that are gone thru, and eventually USAF crews show up and take the aircraft wherever they are. I have a very vague recollection of the actual mechanics of this process. Does anyone out there know the details? I can't remember if the government has the right, as part of the licensing authority, to call upon or commandeer anybody's aircraft in times of national emergency, or if this is a contractual thing, wherein the government pays the airlines and air carriers a retainer for having this option, which they can exercise in times like these under certain limited conditions. Did this used to be related to the "air mail" subsidy? Is it still? I know that some airline planes are more suited to this than others, being fitted with quick-detachable seating to allow rapid conversion between cargo and passenger use. Are these so configured because the airlines and aircraft owners want to have this option for their own flexibility, or are they so configured because these aircraft are part of a special designated civil-reserve air fleet, and the government has paid the extra cost of this setup? I think the latter, or maybe both, but again cannot recall precisely. (Getting old is sad, folks; I recommend you don't... :-) I know some countries' civil air fleets are (or were) even more closely tied to their military -- Aeroflot was specifically an arm of the Soviet military, for example, and some models of civil airliners had fittings like bombardier or recon-camera windows, to allow easy conversion from civilian to military use on short notice. I suppose this applies in every country to some extent; ours might be less direct a relationship. Anyway, if this keeps up, we may well see airline passenger schedules disrupted. I would expect slower package delivery beginning immediately, in any case. Regards, Will Martin