Airline Division Statement on the Crash of UPS Flight 6 in Dubai, U.A.E.
Airline Division Director Captain David Bourne released the following statement this evening on the crash of UPS Flight 6, in Dubai, U.A.E.
“It was with great sadness and shock that I was notified by our UPS brothers at Local 2727 of the crash of UPS Flight 6 in Dubai. As a 747-400 pilot, I am very familiar not only with the airplane, but also the airport and facilities there. I briefed General President Hoffa on the situation and have spoken with CAPA President Captain Paul Onorato and offered not only my personal condolences, but those of General President Hoffa and the entire membership. Additionally, we have extended an offer of any type of assistance we may provide.
While information is obviously incomplete at this time, initial reports point to some sort of in-flight fire. We have also been advised that the NTSB has been asked to assist the U.A.E. authorities in the investigation.
Unfortunately, the crew did not survive.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the crewmembers, their fellow employees and everyone touched by this tragedy. We ask that each of you keep them in your thoughts.
General President James Hoffa issued the following statement:
“Our union mourns the loss of the crewmembers in today’s tragic crash,” said Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa. “We stand ready to offer whatever support we can to the families of the victims and to the International Pilots Association during this difficult time.”
Unity Emphasized as Preparation for Interest Arbitration Begins at AAWW
Following the completion of a week of bargaining in Washington, DC, the Atlas Air, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo Transitional Executive Council (TEC) and Negotiating Committee announced that they did not a reach a tentative agreement with management. After nearly two years of negotiations to merge the two carriers’ collective bargaining agreements, preparations are underway to submit all open sections to interest arbitration in October.
According to the TEC and the Negotiating Committee announcement, the Union remains willing to negotiate with management, but is fully prepared to arbitrate in the fall to protect Crewmembers and their families’ interests. TEC Co-Chairs Captain Robert Kirchner and Captain Stephen Richards emphasized the importance of total unity among pilots at both carriers.
In a special announcement to their crewmembers they stated, “With 1.4 million members and vast resources, the IBT defends members’ rights from the cockpit to the halls of Congress and beyond. Rest assured that the pilot leadership at Atlas and Polar, along with every Crewmember and their families, has the full support of the IBT.”
They also reminded the members of the words of Benjamin Franklin, who wrote, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” They concluded by reminding the membership that, “Your Union leadership is speaking to you with a powerful and unified voice. Now is the time for Atlas and Polar Crewmembers to close ranks and unify around the singular goal of securing a CBA that rewards all Crewmembers for making the Company one of the most profitable airlines in the world,” they said.
The Atlas Air and Polar crewmembers are members of Local 1224 of the Airline Division.
With DoJ Approval, CAL/UAL Merger Prepares to Move to Next Phase
With the recent blessing of the U.S. Department of Justice, the merger of Continental and
United Airlines into the world’s largest passenger carrier continues. Shareholders are expected to approve the merger at their September 17th meeting, paving the way for the completion of the legal phase of the merger by October 1, 2010. Once completed, focus will shift to the operational merger of the carriers.
The carriers have announced their intent to obtain a single air carrier certificate for the new, merged airline. In order for the carriers to complete this process, Continental will take the first step by first requesting that the FAA grant a single certificate for Continental and Air Micronesia, Continental Airlines’ wholly owned subsidiary. At present, the carriers each have their own operating certificate, issued under Part 121 of the FAA regulations. Continental will request that both certificates be merged under a single certificate as Continental Airlines. Once that has been granted, Continental and United will then petition the FAA for a single certificate, integrating the two carriers operating certificates into one. This process will likely take at least one year.
At Air Micronesia, the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), is the certified bargaining representative for not only the fleet, passenger service and reservations employees, it also represents the Air Micronesia mechanics and related crafts and classes. With Continental, the IBT is the certified bargaining representative of Continental's fleet service employees, mechanics and related crafts and classes.
Upon issuance of the single, integrated FAA part 121 operating certificate, the carrier will also become a "single carrier" for representation purposes, triggering the process of integrating the seniority lists of the affected crafts and classes.
Continental's passenger service and reservation crafts and classes are presently without union representation.
UAL Negotiations Continue on a Productive Note
Productivity at the bargaining table was the focus of the meetings between union and management negotiators at United Airlines this week.
Two new Articles to the Agreement; Field Service and Training were discussed at length this week and after much work, the parties were able to reach Tentative Agreement on the Field Service Article. Substantial progress also took place in the discussions regarding Training, with much of the work completed to facilitate a Tentative Agreement on the Training Article when the Parties reconvene on September 13th.
The use of Continental’s language as a template for these Articles has facilitated the process; despite having some areas of definition requiring discussion to ensure all parties fully understood the differences in nomenclature used by the two different Carriers. Reaching agreement on these articles represent a positive fundamental shift in the way they are administered.
The next session of negotiations will be held the week of September 13th in Chicago followed by the week of the 21st in San Francisco.
Week In Review News Items
Legislative & Regulatory
Crash investigators are re-evaluating the performance of aircraft braking systems in rainy conditions, following the overshooting of an American Airlines plane on the runway while landing in Jamaica last year. The Boeing 737 careened off the runway and broke into three parts on December 22 after landing in rainy weather at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
Aviation Security
They were terrorism suspects just a few days ago — their names and faces splashed across news media outlets worldwide. Now, the two Yemeni men with ties to metro Detroit were to fly back to their country — courtesy of the FBI, according to Dutch authorities and the attorney for one of the men. Their trip comes after Dutch officials cleared them Wednesday and released them without charges.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
IATA says 47 major carriers it monitors to assess the industry's financial health reported a net profit of $3.9 billion in the second quarter. The results contrast with the $881 million net loss posted by carriers a year earlier. IATA says airlines in North America and the Asia-Pacific region performed best…while U.S. consumers are clearly still jittery about the nation's fragile economic recovery, the country's major airlines believe they've found a formula for operating profitably even in a slow-growth environment: Stay disciplined on capacity, develop new sources of revenue via ancillary charges and keep nonfuel costs under control.
Delta has seen very strong traffic on its flights in August, helped in part by a stronger yen that spurred more Japanese to take overseas trips, its company president said on Thursday. "It has been an important contributor to our recovery from the economic recession we have seen this past year," Delta President Edward Bastian told reporters in Tokyo. "Certainly, 84 yen to the dollar has helped us improve financial results." and Delta plans to park half of the regional jets in the fleet of its Comair subsidiary over the next two years and cut its number of employees at its Cincinnati hub.
With United and Continental agreeing to lease takeoff and landing slots at Newark Airport to low-cost carrier Southwest, the Department of Justice has given its OK for the two airlines to merge…the airline industry, proud of itself for managing capacity better than it ever has, looks askance at JetBlue. In an industry with flat-to-down capacity growth, JetBlue plans to boost its available seat miles by 6% in the current quarter and by 8% for the full year.
Miscellaneous
The dramatic exit of a JetBlue Airways flight attendant from his aircraft via an emergency slide after unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade over the intercom, allegedly after an encounter with a badly behaving passenger says much more about the breakdown of civility and self-control in 21st century America than it does about flight attendants or airline passengers. Nevertheless, it is fair to observe that the phenomenon of full and nearly full aircraft, when combined with the hassles of air travel, has raised stress and anxiety levels for all involved.
Agricultural equipment makers and customers worldwide gathered in Orlando in January to meet, greet, sell and buy at the trade show AG Connect Expo. About 1,460 international attendees registered for the show, organized by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Nearly 500 of them never made it. The reason for the absentees: They couldn't obtain a U.S. entry visa in time to attend, most of them told the association afterward.