American Airlines Alliance Doesn’t Violate Pilots’ Contract, Arbitrator Rules
In the ongoing dispute between American Airlines and its pilots union, an independent arbitrator has ruled that the company’s proposed alliance with British Airways does not violate the pilots’ contract.
After a series of discussions with representatives of the airline and Allied Pilots Association, which represents 11,500 pilots at American, the arbitrator decided in favor of the carrier, citing the likely economic benefits of the alliance.
In 2008, the union filed a grievance with American, saying the company’s proposal for antitrust immunity violated the “scope clause” in its labor contract. A scope clause defines a company’s work that is reserved for union members.
But American said it offered protections to the pilots union that ensured American’s share of the flying, as part of the joint venture with British Airway, would “remain relatively proportional over time.” The airline, owned by Fort Worth-based AMR, said the pilots union rejected that offer.
“We knew this was more about rhetoric than the facts of our agreement,” said Kevin Cox, American’s vice president for state and community affairs. “The fact is, this is designed to allow us to continue to grow and compete on a level playing field. This is good for consumers and our employees.”
The proposed venture between American, British Airways and Spain’s Iberia would allow the carriers to coordinate operations, marketing, schedules and other services on trans-Atlantic routes.
An antitrust immunity application for the alliance is under review by the U.S. Transportation Department and the European Union. A decision from the department is expected by the end of the month.
The Transport Workers Union, which represents about 26,000 American employees, favors the alliance, while the Association of Professional Flight Attendants has not commented on it.
The pilots union said it is worried that if immunity is granted, it will cost pilots jobs and flying time.
A pilots union spokesman, First Officer Scott Shankland, said the union is disappointed by the arbitrator’s ruling and has taken its job protection concerns to Washington. On Wednesday, the union held informational picketing at Transportation Department’s headquarters.
“AMR’s proposal for an expanded alliance with British Airways and other airlines is a merger, and mergers mean downsizing and job cuts,” Shankland said.
“Ensuring job protections in that scenario is a reasonable goal.”
Airlines Companies Plans Change Flight Route to Refuel The Bottom Line
The battle for survival among airlines is being played out between two major companies, each with a totally different plan.
Southwest and American airlines each has a different purpose: Southwest to attract business fliers and hold on to budget travelers, and American to hold on to high-end business fliers while offering low fares to keep budget travelers but hitting them with new fees.
American was first to charge low-fare customers for checking bags. In fact, American charges for all sorts of things that used to be free. Dan Garton, American’s vice president for marketing, defends these practices.
If customers want low fares, he says, they must be ready to give up certain items — or pay for them. Budget-minded customers have proved that they will use the cost of the ticket to make decisions on which airline to fly, regardless of how much they will owe in fees, he says.
On the other hand, frequent fliers and business people are willing to spend extra for their transportation comfort, he says, and American does not impose extra charges on them. As Garton puts it: “For the least expensive fares, it’s à la carte; for the more expensive, it’s a fixed price.”
Garten says customers have to understand that airlines are trying to give good service at the lowest price possible. Says Garton: “You can’t say you’re being ripped off by an industry that’s losing money.”
Southwest is having nothing to do with charges for checked baggage and similar fees, but it’s charging extra for early boarding and a variety of other services. It will soon add services such as at-seat Wi-Fi — yes, for a fee.
For the time being, Garton adds, Southwest will slow its growth but will not abandon a single city and will increase service to some cities. Cutbacks will come in frequency of flights, he says. Two cities that are connected by six flights a day could go down to four flights a day.
China Southern 2008 Traffic Growth Slows Sharply
China Southern Airlines’ passenger volume growth in 2008 slowed to single digits for the first time in five years as a slowing economy curbed demand.
China Southern, the country’s largest carrier by fleet size, flew 58.24 million passengers in 2008, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier, data provided on the company’s website showed.
Cargo volume fell 4.30 percent to 834,740 tonnes, the first decline since the outbreak of the SARS crisis in 2003.
In December, the carrier’s passenger volume rose 6.20 percent to 4.64 million, but its freight volume slumped 16.9 percent to 65,240 tonnes, the data showed.
China Southern’s H shares, traded in Hong Kong, rose 2.4 percent to HK$1.28 in the early afternoon, outperforming a 0.07 climb in the benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI.
China’s air traffic began to slide in May as a series of natural disasters and a slowing economy dented demand for air travel. The country’s top airlines, which also include Air China all posted net losses in their third quarter results. China Eastern Airlines said last week its passenger volume fell 5.4 percent to 37.05 million last year, marking the first drop in at least nine years.
Cargo volume fell 5.6 percent to 887,000 tonnes during the period.
To reduce costs, China Eastern had said it will cut the salary of its senior and mid-level management by between 10 to 30 percent effective next month.
Air China has not announced its annual operating figures yet.
Chautauqua Airlines to Replace American Airlines Flight Services from Wichita to St. Louis
American Airlines, in its effort to downsize its presence in St. Louis, will discontinue nonstop flight service between Wichita and St. Louis today. The service was provided by Chautauqua Airlines, American Airlines, with two daily flights.
Wichita joins 12 cities where non-stop service from St. Louis will no longer be available on any carrier: Austin, Texas; Nashville, Indianapolis; Wichita, Kan.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Madison, Wis.; Norfolk, Va.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco; and Des Moines, Iowa. American Airlines will be left with 36 flights departing daily from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, far fewer than the nearly 500 daily departures from the airport when American Airlines took over Trans World Airlines (TWA) less than 10 years ago.
“It is unfortunate that American Airlines has chosen to downsize this hub,” said Valerie Wise, Air Service and Business Development Manager. “The St. Louis route performed well from Wichita. We will continue to work to find a carrier to resume this service.”
TWA originally provided nonstop service between Wichita and St. Louis. American purchased TWA in April of 2001, and in December of that year, TWA no longer existed.
The most attractive options from Wichita to St. Louis now are on Delta through Memphis, or American or United through Chicago. All of the airlines serving Wichita, except Allegiant, serve St. Louis but with one-stop.
15 injured by sudden drop on turbulent Air Canada flight
At least 11 passengers and four crew members were injured when Air Canada Flight 34 from Australia to Vancouver hit severe turbulence caused by a thunderstorm about one hour northeast of Honolulu.
Passengers said that around 4 a.m. HT, the plane suddenly dropped, throwing them up against the ceiling. The seatbelt sign was on when the plane hit the turbulence, according to the airline.
Lindsay Hamon, who was sitting in business class, said passengers not wearing seatbelts suffered the most.
“There was about 15 minutes of really violent turbulence and anyone who wasn’t strapped in was in trouble, and they took a number of passengers off at Hawaii. Some of them came back on. They had to stretcher maybe four out of the airplane,” he said.
Hamon said while the incident was frightening, most passengers remained calm, and there were a number of doctors on board who helped treat the injured.
After the incident, the pilot turned the Boeing 777 around and made an unscheduled stop in Honolulu around 1 a.m. HT Friday, Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said.
Upon landing in Honolulu, two passengers and two crew members were taken to hospital, while nine other passengers and two other crew members received medical care at the airport and were released to continue their journey.
The plane departed with the remaining passengers and crew after about two hours, and landed in Vancouver shortly before noon PT.
The passengers and crew left in Honolulu sustained minor injuries and have since been released from hospital.
The crew is believed to be based in Vancouver. The passenger list indicated the Boeing 777-200LR was originally carrying 256 passengers and 17 crew members.
