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Cape Air: We worked diligently to rectify issues
Cape Air said it has worked diligently in response to the issues that they faced in their operations the past two years.
Responding to Saipan Tribune inquiries regarding the recent letter that Sens. Arnold Palacios (R-Saipan) and Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan) sent to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Cape Air said they are currently reviewing the letter.
“We are in receipt of the letter from the senators, and are reviewing it in detail,” Cape Air president Linda Markham said.
The Feb. 17 letter from the senators pointed out to the agency the federal regulations they believe United/Cape Air has violated during a “heavy maintenance period” between 2014 and 2015 during which hundreds of passengers flying to and from Guam was affected by a series of cancelled and delayed flights.
These regulations are “on time performance,” “flight service notification,” and “unrealistic scheduling.”
The senators also pointed out in their letter that United Airlines, which is the code-share partner of Cape Air, would only step in to assist passengers when all five daily Cape Air flights were cancelled or when several flights were cancelled for two days or more.
They also added that the nine-month period was a very long time to be flying one plane.
With this, the senators said they are looking forward to receiving information on filing a consumer complaint against the two airlines.
“Cape Air, along with our partners at United Airlines, worked diligently to rectify the issues we encountered in 2014/2015. Our second aircraft was returned to operation in August 2015 after undergoing the required detailed inspection process,” Markham said.
“With the two-aircraft operation in place, we have seen significant improvement of the flight reliability, and will continue to provide consistent service to the Guam, Saipan, and Rota communities,” she added.
