Aircraft Commander in Chief |

Aircraft Commander in Chief

From weather diversions in China to security delays in Detroit, Craig Marquis is in the know about every American Airlines flight.

Craig Marquis is in the hot seat. As one of four center managers at American Airlines’ System Operations Control center near Dallas, he is the only person on his shift with the authority to cancel any of American’s flights. When problems arise-related to weather, security or mechanical trouble-he’s the go-to guy who ultimately decides how the airline will handle it. He works in a warehouse-like room the size of a football field, filled with dispatchers and operations coordinators (and their many computers and phones) who are in constant communication with every flight in the air. When there’s a problem, they turn to him.

Marquis credits his team with doing the work and presenting him with intelligent plans when decisions must be made. But “the ultimate decision does come down to me, and I’m the one on the carpet on Monday, if, in fact, there’s any question about it,” he says. Executive Travel recently talked with Marquis about what it’s like to be the person who decides whether to cancel or divert your flight.

Shepherding your share of 2,300 flights a day...this has got to be a stressful job.
It’s very stressful. [And] one of the challenges of the job [is that] I can come in tomorrow, and it’s totally different from today’s operation. Today, I have weather up in the Northeast, I’m dealing with air traffic control issues and mechanical issues. Tomorrow, I could have a typhoon heading towards Japan, I could have a hurricane down in the Caribbean, I could have civil unrest in Argentina, I could have crew problems, I can have equipment problems. Every day’s different, so it’s a challenge, but that’s also why I enjoy the job.

What type of weather is most challenging to deal with?

Thunderstorms. Snow is very easy to forecast; it’s very easy to track. Thunderstorms are our toughest challenge.

Walk me through what happens when you get in to work and see a line of thunderstorms down the East Coast.

My shift starts at 6:00 in the morning. I’m usually here at 5:30 or quarter to 6. I’ll get an operational briefing from the manager that’s coming off at midnight. Then I’ll go to meteorology and get a briefing from that department. At about 6:20, we have an overall weather briefing from WSI, our weather vendor-that comes across the intercom. And if I have any questions, I can call them at any time. Then at 6:20 to 6:25, the Air Traffic Control [ATC] conference starts up, and Central Flow will have all the control centers and all the towers on the East Coast on the phone, and I’ll go down with my ATC coordinators and we’ll listen to that and give ATC American Airlines’ viewpoint...how the thunderstorms are going to impact our operations. Once we’re off the telcon, then, collectively, we come up with our plan. If the load factor’s light enough, and the delays are long enough in New York, we may have to cancel some flights and combine the loads.... We discuss it; then we’ll come up with a plan collectively; and then we’ll communicate it to the system.

What kind of security issues do you deal with?

Any kind of security issue that has to do with American Airlines property or aircraft-decisions on bomb threats or security situations come through my desk.

So, what should passengers know about picking flights?

I’d say flying early in the day...that would be my only suggestion. Usually the crew is an originating crew coming from the hotel or home, so your crew 99% of the time won’t be late, and the aircraft has been there overnight. Most stations have numerous aircraft, so if one plane is still having maintenance done on it, they can bring over a new aircraft. The weather’s usually better in the morning, and there’s just less congestion out there as far as air traffic goes.

2005 AA flights

Top three reasons for cancellations

1. Weather: 3,774
2. Hurricane/Typhoon: 2,682
3. Mechanical: 2,494

Top four reasons for diversions

1. Weather (1,497 flights)
2. Mechanical (613 flights)
3. Medical (215 flights)
4. Curfew (118 flights)