Kunkel Joins Team at Local 769
Bringing his decades of experience in the airline industry with him, Captain John Kunkel (Atlas Air, USAir – retired) has joined the team at Local 769 as a Business Agent.
A resident of South Florida, Kunkel is a retired airline captain, most recently serving as Eastern Regional Chief Pilot and Check Airman for Atlas Air in Miami for a number of years. Besides his extensive experience in management and flight operations, Kunkel spent many years as a Captain on the Boeing 747-200 and -400. Before joining Atlas, he was a senior Captain and Check Airman on various aircraft at Piedmont Airlines and the Boeing 767 at USAir before he took early retirement to join Atlas. Prior to his airline experience, John served in the US Navy and was a member of the elite Navy SEALS.
Commenting on the Kunkel appointment, Local 769 President Mike Scott said, “We welcome John to Local 769. With his experience, we add another strong member to our team; and having him available to work with Business Agent Daisy Gonzalez to represent the pilot groups in Local 769 will not only strengthen us, it shows yet again that the Teamsters have and will continue to seek out and provide the best possible representation for our members.”
Notified of the appointment, Airline Division Director David Bourne said, “I have had the pleasure of knowing John for many years. He is a tremendously dedicated pilot and trade unionist. With his strong background not only as a pilot, but as a former member of airline management, I know he will work wonderfully with LU769 Business Agent Daisy Gonzalez and President Mike Scott to provide the pilots represented by Local 769 an unparalleled level of representation.”
Week In Review News Items
In Praise…
A desperate Arizona man faced with a horrible family tragedy is praising a Southwest Airlines pilot today for displaying an act of human kindness some say is rare in the airline industry: he delayed a takeoff so the man could reach the bedside of his dying 2-year old grandson. Mark Dickinson was in Los Angeles on a business trip last week when he learned that his grandson Caden Rodgers was lying in a Denver hospital, brain dead and about to be taken off life support.
Labor Developments
The union involved in a long-running dispute with British Airways has claimed almost three out of four members of cabin crew have witnessed bullying or have been victims themselves. A survey of almost 2,000 of Unite members at the airline conducted in November revealed that a culture of “bullying and intimidation” had taken root in the wake of the dispute, which remains unresolved. Cabin crew are currently being balloted again over whether to launch a fresh wave of strikes in the long running row which started over cost cutting but now involves other issues including travel concessions removed from workers who have taken industrial action.
Legislative, Safety & Regulatory
U.S. airlines and online travel sites have 60 days to comply with a new law designed to make it easier for passengers to know when they make a reservation what carrier will actually do the flying. "When passengers buy an airline ticket, they have the right to know which airline will be operating their flight," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement on Monday. The law was prompted by the crash of a regional jet in 2009 near Buffalo that killed all 49 aboard and one person on the ground.
A second security breach at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport – this one reportedly involving an undercover sting – has cost a JetBlue ticket agent his job. In a Nov. 19 test of aviation security, an undercover inspector for the TSA told the ticket agent that he needed to get a package to Boston that day – and handed the employee a $100 bill, according to a TSA.
The US government has sealed a partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO) to boost the security of the global supply chain. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano outlined a series of initiatives designed to make the system stronger and more resilient.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
The heads of American Airlines and Japan Airlines said Tuesday their beefed up alliance will give travelers cheaper fares, more routes and easier connections on flights across the Pacific. U.S. and Japanese regulators gave approval to the strengthened alliance late last year, which followed the two nations signing an "open skies" deal to encourage air travel…and in 1990, Southwest Airlines’ best route, the one with the most passengers, was one of its first routes – Dallas Love Field to Houston. That's still true today. But the old route isn't quite the pearl it used to be. Southwest carried 1.5 million passengers between Love Field and Houston Hobby airports in 1990. In 2009, that number had plummeted to just over a million passengers, a drop of nearly a third.
Miscellaneous
For the second consecutive month, U.S. airlines reported no tarmac delays exceeding the government’s three-hour limit. The data for November also show that compliance is not coming at the expense of the overall flight-cancellation rate.