Airline Week in Review
Airline Division News, Week Ending August 20, 2019
Allegiant Technicians and Related Negotiations Update
The union Negotiating Committee met with the Company on August 13th, 14th and 15th at Allegiant Air Headquarters. The Union and the Company made considerable progress and have reached T/As on Articles 10 (Leaves of Absence) and 23 (Management Rights). The committee also spent considerable time on and completed Article 19 (Grievance Procedure) which is now in the review process with the expectation that it will passed to the Company during the next round of negotiations. The sessions continue to be positive and productive, with the next round scheduled for the week of September 9th.
Air Canada and Airline Division reach Tentative Agreement
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has reached a tentative agreement with Air Canada, the largest passenger carrier in Canada. The proposed contract covers over 700 customer service representatives, reservation assistants, air cargo workers and other employees at the company’s U.S. base of operations.
“These workers were engaged and united throughout the process of collective bargaining, and their hard work paid off,” said Capt. David Bourne, Director of the Teamsters Airline Division. “They earned every benefit in this contract through their commitment and dedication.”
“Thanks to diligent efforts of our negotiating committee, we were able to draft a collective bargaining agreement that improves compensation and working conditions for these workers while also ensuring that the company will maintain its status as the premier passenger carrier of Canada,” said Bob Fisher, Airline Division International Representative. “This contract is another example of why aviation workers all across North America are affiliating with our union.”
The 10-year agreement includes a number of new benefits, including signing bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, guaranteed protection for medical rates and job security, annual raises and the elimination of black-out periods for vacation. More details will be available in the upcoming weeks as the union begins a series of open sessions with its membership to review the details of the agreement. A ratification vote is expected to be completed by the end of September.
Cape Air Pilots File for Mediation
Despite movement on several sections, the lack of movement by management on key areas; primarily compensation, have led the ExCo of Cape Air to file for federal mediation.
“This is not something we expected, or quite frankly wanted,” said Cape Air ExCo Chairman Captain Marilyn Rhude. However, our pilots conduct some of the most demanding flying in the industry and with an entirely new, extremely fuel efficient fleet coming online that we are the launch customer for; the pilots of Cape Air are long overdue for a salary scale that reflects the responsibility we bear as pilots and for the daily contributions we make that make this company the success that it continues to be.”
Airline Industry News
Governmental and Regulatory
Less than 24 hours after a federal judge made permanent his ruling ordering mechanics at American Airlines to what he has called an illegal work slowdown that has caused tens of thousands of flight delays and cancellations this summer the airline’s management went back to court on Tuesday seeking a contempt of court ruling against those unions and their leaders.
FAA—citing non-specific “continued airworthiness activity”—reminded operators that angle-of-attack (AOA) sensors can be easily damaged during “normal operations,” and must be carefully maintained to ensure safe flight operations.
Airlines, Industry and Labor
Ryanair is facing further backlash from its Irish and UK pilots, after Irish union Fórsa walked out of pay negotiations and UK union BALPA accused the airline of adopting “bully boy tactics” to avert an Aug. 22 strike.
The protests sweeping Hong Kong have caused more fallout for Cathay Pacific Airways, with the airline’s CEO Rupert Hogg and chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo resigning from the carrier. The Cathay board said it had accepted Hogg’s resignation, which will be effective Aug. 19.
Boeing plans to hire “a few hundred” temporary staffers at its Moses Lake, Washington, facility for work that must be done on stored 737 MAXs awaiting delivery to customers, the company said. The ramp-up at Moses Lake’s Grant County Airport, one of several places where Boeing is storing undelivered MAXs, will enable the company to handle all work required to get aircraft ready to return to service.
Miami International Airport (MIA) is set for an aggressive growth programme to boost its cargo throughput.
In June, the airport got the green light for a $5bn modernisation plan, and while the bulk of the funds are for passenger facility upgrades, the plan includes expanded aircraft parking positions and warehouses for cargo operations.
Metro-Dade Aviation Department, which runs the airport, is looking to add space in the western perimeter to expand the cargo area to allow the airport to reach its goal of handling over four million tons of cargo by 2040, nearly double the 2.3m tons that passed through MIA last year – an 80,000 ton gain over 2017.
In addition to wide- and narrowbody freighters joining the Amazon Air fleet, Prime Air drones may soon begin delivering Amazon purchases directly to customer doorsteps. Next in the series of the broader air cargo industry’s commercial drone saga, Amazon Prime Air submitted a petition to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) yesterday that, if approved, would enable the carrier to conduct commercial delivery operations with its fixed-wing MK27 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones.