U.S. Agency to Investigate Unscheduled Flight Stops

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Thursday that it will look into complaints that two airlines serving John Wayne Airport are not notifying passengers in a timely fashion of unscheduled refueling stops at Ontario International Airport.

“If they are representing to the public at the time the ticket is purchased that the flight is a nonstop but it’s really via Ontario, then they’re doing something wrong,” said Hoyt Decker, the department’s assistant director of consumer affairs. “We certainly want to take a look at it.”

The issue of unscheduled refueling stops in Ontario surfaced earlier this week when Alaska Airlines officials confirmed that their jetliners had made about 12 such stops in the past two weeks because the air carrier is in danger of surpassing John Wayne’s noise limits. Trans World Airlines has since acknowledged that it has been making unscheduled refueling stops three to four times a week in Ontario for the same reason.

Noise restrictions at John Wayne, among the nation’s toughest, require that airlines stay below specific quarterly noise averages as measured at various stations around the airport. Reducing weight by taking on fuel elsewhere allows planes to gain altitude faster and thus make a quieter exit from Orange County.

Decker said his primary concern is not the stopovers themselves, but rather advance notice to passengers at time of ticket purchases.

“The passenger is entitled to enough advance warning to be able to make a decision whether to board that airplane or make other arrangements,” Decker said.

He said 12 unscheduled refueling stops in a two-week period do not necessarily constitute a pattern of deceptive or unfair competition, but warrants attention. If the Department of Transportation finds that an airline is engaging in unfair or deceptive business practices, his department could issue a cease-and-desist order.

Passengers have complained about the unscheduled stops and the resulting delays. TWA passengers say they have missed connecting flights at TWA’s hub in St. Louis, Mo., as a result of the Ontario stop.

Alaska Airlines officials have acknowledged that it wasn’t until this week that they began a telephone campaign to notify passengers of the Ontario refueling stops, which add 20 to 40 minutes to each flight. But they said the extra stop will be eliminated when a new period for measuring airport noise begins on Oct. 1.

TWA spokesman Jim Faulkner said Thursday that there is no Department of Transportation rule that requires airlines to notify passengers of such stops within any particular time.

“If we know well beforehand, we will notify the passengers ahead of time,” Faulkner said. “But often we find that passengers have already boarded the plane before we know that we have a problem.”

Fuel, weather and weight are not computed until just before flight time, he said, adding that fueling occurs at John Wayne even as passengers strap themselves in their seats.

“I’m sure if it’s becoming a pattern we’ll abide by whatever the DOT rules,” Faulkner said.

He said the airline will try to hold a specific connecting flight at St. Louis if many passengers aboard a John Wayne flight are scheduled to be on it. But Faulkner also acknowledged that the airline is not likely to do that for a single passenger or maybe even a small number.

Spokesmen for TWA and Alaska said they believe that passengers would prefer to stop for fuel than be bumped from a John Wayne flight altogether.

The unscheduled refueling stops have always been one of several strategies available to airlines for meeting John Wayne Airport’s noise limits. Most air carriers, however, have chosen to restrict seat sales or bump passengers if necessary in order to stay within the airport’s regulations.