Lockheed Martin has announced that effective Feb. 1, 2010, it will implement another round of flight service station consolidations.
The company cites a staffing and workload analysis, along with continued improvements in flight service system technology and efficiency, as the basis for the consolidation. Because of these continued improvements, the company does not anticipate any impact on service to pilots.
“AOPA has served as a strong customer advocate for pilots since the FAA announced it was contracting out flight service and subsequently awarded the contract to Lockheed Martin in 2005,” said AOPA Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman. “We will continue to closely monitor flight service performance as the system continues to transition.”
In its most recent report to the FAA Flight Service Program Office, Lockheed has demonstrated that it is currently meeting or exceeding the 20 customer service performance metrics that have been established for the contract. Areas covered include average speed of answer for handled calls, percent of calls that exceed two minutes of queue time, percent of dropped calls, percent of radio contacts initiated within 15 seconds, and percent of pilot reports processed within 120 seconds of the end of contact. The FAA monitors Lockheed flight services to ensure the customer service performance metrics are met and will continue to do so as the changes take place.
Beginning in February, Lockheed will close its locations in Columbia, Mo.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Kankakee, Ill.; Lansing, Mich.; Nashville, Tenn.; Seattle, Wash., and St. Petersburg, Fla.
This is the second consolidation effort since the company was awarded a contract in 2005 to provide flight services for the FAA.
To find out more about how to get the most out of flight services, take the AOPA Air Safety Foundation course “A Pilot’s Guide to Flight Service” and read AOPA’s flight planning tips.
Pilots also can report problems with the service by calling 888/358-7782 (888/FLT-SRVC) (this complaint hotline is monitored by the FAA and Lockheed Martin) or to Lockheed Martin directly by filling out a complaint form on the company’s flight services Web site. The Lockheed form requires registration on the site; all complaints are evaluated by Lockheed Martin management with resolution feedback provided to the submitter.
