UAL Negotiations Conclude for the Year, to Continue in January 2011
After another week of substantive discussions, the union and company concluded this week’s round negotiations late Saturday afternoon. Progress has been made and the parties have agreed to continue discussions for the collective bargaining agreement in January 2011.
“The local union negotiators have worked many long hours and well into the late evenings to ensure that the memberships concerns are addressed. I’m very impressed with their dedication and focus our members’ behalf,” said Airline Division Director David Bourne. “They are a credit to the Teamsters and the men and women they represent,” he concluded.
Arbitration Begins for Final Stages of AAWW Combined Contract
December 10, 2010, saw the completion of four days of interest arbitration that will address the final unresolved sections of a new, single collective bargaining agreement (SCBA) for the crewmembers of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo, who are members of Local 1224.
Sections and subsections that were arbitrated included Section 1 (Scope), Section 20 and Section 21 (Information Sharing Provisions) and Section 26 (Picket Lines). Union negotiators presenting a substantial amount of evidence in support of its case to Arbitrator Richard Kasher, including hundreds of pages of exhibits and many hours of expert witness testimony from Bob Mann, an industry analyst and recognized expert on airline performance and scope issues. Atlas Captain Bill Holcomb, Polar Captain Dan Wells and IBT Consultant retired UAL Captain Rick Dubinsky also presented critical testimony on behalf of the union positions.
While the parties have the option to resume the hearing for approximately 45 minutes on December 20, 2010 if necessary, Arbitrator Kasher has already directed the parties to submit their post-hearing briefs to him on February 28, 2011. He will issue his award after reviewing the record of evidence and briefs in the case. Arbitrator Kasher’s award will result in a single collective bargaining agreement covering all Atlas and Polar crewmembers.
Upon being advised of the completion of the arbitration hearing, Airline Division Director David Bourne said, “I want to congratulate the negotiators and the crewmembers on reaching this critical milestone. They crewmembers of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo are now approaching the culmination of a very long and arduous process that began before they joined the Airline Division. I am pleased that we have been able to provide the assistance that was long needed to help them get to this point. The Airline Division continues to stand available to assist them in any way necessary as they move to the final stages of the arbitration.”
Week In Review News Items
Legislative, Safety & Regulatory
The U.S. government should make “a significant financial investment” in equipping airline and business jet cockpits so operators can use the next generation of air-traffic control systems, a federal panel said. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood should also commission an independent study into whether aviation taxes and fees are too high, and back “responsible regulatory intervention” to reduce fuel-price volatility from speculative trading, according to the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee.
Security
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security say terrorists could be preparing to target large crowds at holiday gatherings. Officials say they have no specific or credible information about any planned attacks, but they want Americans to be aware…Metrorail police officers plan to randomly select bags before passengers enter subway stations and they will swab them or have an explosives-sniffing dog check the bags, according to the Metro police. There is "no specific or credible threat to the system at this time," Metro said in a statement.
TSA’s efforts to get airports abroad to provide comparable levels of security to those in the U.S. is being thwarted by a lack of resources and cultural differences, TSA and other security experts told lawmakers…the airline industry body IATA unveiled a plan on Tuesday to replace lengthy and sometimes intrusive security checks at airports with a new system aimed at finding "bad people, not bad objects". "The current system of putting everyone through the same procedure – taking off shoes, pulling out laptops – is an incredible mess.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
The world's five biggest airlines now hail from Asia and Latin America, highlighting the industry's shift away from the U.S. and Europe to higher-growth countries. Air China is twice the size of either Delta in the U.S. or Germany's Lufthansa…the global aviation industry’s financial turbulence will continue until next year, according to IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani who estimated that carriers would post a 40 percent dip in combined profits in 2011 because of slower economic growth, more expensive jet fuel and austerity measures in Europe.
Fitch Senior Director Bill Warlick said: “Modest strengthening of U.S. airline industry operating fundamentals and steady progress toward debt reduction and balance sheet deleveraging will continue to support ratings improvement next year. We anticipate that most carriers will generate strong free cash flow and reduce debt in 2011. Modest strengthening of industry operating fundamentals and steady progress toward debt reduction and balance sheet deleveraging will continue to support ratings improvement next year."
U.S. airlines collected about $4.3 billion in fee revenue in the first three quarters of 2010, an amount roughly equivalent to the industry's anticipated total profits for the year. With the fourth quarter historically one in which airlines loses money, it is possible to include that nearly every penny of the industry's profits will result from fee income…U.S. airlines hope to raise fares and hold the line on capacity, expanding only in key markets mostly in the international arena, airline executives told analysts and investors last week at the Hudson Securities Airline Conference.
Miscellaneous
Continental will let passengers hold a reservation and lock in a quoted ticket price for up to a week — for fees that vary widely. The service, called FareLock, gives travelers three days or a week to decide whether to buy a ticket and avoid a fare increase or the chance that a preferred flight or fare will sell out…the world's largest plane maker predicted deliveries of almost 26,000 new passenger and freight aircraft worth $3.2 trillion between 2010 and 2029, an increase of 900 compared with its previous annual forecast. "Demand for travel is doubling every 15 years … but in places like India and China we expect to double in the next six years," Airbus sales chief John Leahy told a news conference.