Airline Division News Items
Airline Division Director David Bourne's New Teamster Web Site Message
The Airline Division has three overriding objectives for the new Administration and the new Congress and they are the protection and expansion of American jobs, the safety and security of the flying public and last but far from least the restoration/replacement of airline industry employee's pensions.
We are very well aware of the difficult economic environment that faces the American Commercial Airline Industry. The current recession which has started may be very severe and it may well last a year to eighteen months. That is, of course, going to affect the demand for commercial airline travel particularly for non business travelers. We are very willing to work with the Obama Administration and with the Congress and with the industry to forge legislative packages that help keep America's airlines flying.
However, we will insist that the industry act in good faith to keep American jobs here in the USA.To that end, we will be pressing for legislation which prevents the outsourcing of airline jobs to foreign countries. There is a growing trend of companies outsourcing critical maintenance activities, for example, heavy check maintenance when commercial aircraft are literally taken apart piece by piece to countries like China, Korea and El Salvador where mechanics are unqualified, not certified, background checks are nonexistent, alcohol and drug testing is not done. This represents a threat to good, highly technical American jobs and equally important poses a severe safety and national security threat to America's flying public.. I wonder how many Americans want to get on an aircraft serviced and maintained in substandard operations in places like China and El Salvador.I wonder how many Americans appreciate the massive security hole these operations present because with no real oversight terrorists might well find a way to place an explosive device on an aircraft and detonate it days later when it is flying over America's skies.
We will be working for legislation which imposes the same regulatory standards in all foreign countries where American jobs have been outsourced and American planes are maintained as applies in the United States.That is the only way to protect American jobs and ensure the safety and security of the flying public.
We also will be working to reform America's outdated, one sided bankruptcy laws. Under current law, many American airline companies have manipulated the bankruptcy laws to eliminate the pensions that hardworking Teamsters have worked decades for and to which they are rightfully and morally entitled. This is a disgraceful situation. American companies are also using the bankruptcy code to outsource American jobs again to substandard operations in many parts of the world.
The Teamsters are also committed to a healthy and green environment. To that end, we oppose the practice of some companies which make needless flights without passengers to places like El Salvador generating enormous energy waste and emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
We are ready, willing and anxious to help get the American economy back on track working with the new Administration, the new Congress and yes with the industry on these initiatives to save, preserve and expand jobs in the airline industry. Tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters have built this industry through their skill, their energy and their creativity. We are so proud of the great work our members perform day in and day out for the American people. We want their jobs to stay here in the USA.
Teamsters Meet with Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV)
David Bourne and Ken Hall, Director, Parcel and Small Package Division, met with Congressman Rahall, Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to discuss the Express Carrier provision in the upcoming FAA Reauthorization Bill as well as outsourcing legislation and bankruptcy reform. Bourne and Hall thanked Congressman Rahall for the Express Carrier language in the FAA bill that passed the House. This language would make it easier for unions like the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to organize FedEx employees.
Atlas and Polar Pilots in Negotiations for a New Contract
Less than three months after joining the Teamsters, Atlas and Polar pilots are in negotiations for a new contract. Under their previous union they struggled unsuccessfully for four years to get to the point of negotiating a comprehensive labor agreement.
Week in Review News Items
USG Developments
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Thursday approved the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009. The measure would raise the PFC cap to $7 and increase overall AIP funding by $100 million per year. At the FAA, Acting Administrator Lynne A. Osmus announced several key personnel changes in the agency's aviation safety organization. Peggy Gilligan was named the new associate administrator for aviation safety. And Southwest Airlines agreed to pay USD$7.5 million to settle US government allegations that it flew planes without performing required safety inspections, FAA said.
Aviation Safety
A faulty altimeter contributed to the fatal crash last week of a Turkish Airlines jet, sending a signal that caused it to slow down too abruptly, Dutch investigators said Wednesday. One of the jetliner's two radio altimeters had incorrectly indicated that the plane, a Boeing 737-800, was approximately at ground level, prompting the automatic pilot to throttle back the engines in preparation for touchdown. The plane was actually at almost 2,000 feet. And new airplanes like the Airbus 380 and Boeing 777 that are capable of flying nonstop for as much as 20 hours are adding urgency to a question the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration have long wrestled with: How do you make sure the flight crews get enough sleep?
Air Cargo, Passenger Demand
IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani warned this week that air cargo demand "has fallen off a cliff" and projected that revenue generated by airlines from cargo in 2009 is likely to drop 9% year-over-year to $54 billion. "The continued decline in cargo markets is a clear sign that we have not yet seen the bottom of this economic crisis." IATA also said this week that the world's airlines lost up to USD$8 billion last year, far more than the USD$5 billion previously estimated, global industry body IATA said on Monday. The traffic decline at the world's airlines is impacting Boeing, which has a net total of minus 10 orders this year.
Airline Operations
Airlines lost 1.3 million fewer bags in 2008, as more passengers wheeled, dragged and toted their luggage aboard planes to avoid paying new fees to check bags, federal data show. Passenger reports of lost or destroyed luggage on domestic flights operated by the 20 largest U.S. airlines plunged by one-third last year versus 2007, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, with improvements most noticeable during the fall, when fees for the first checked bag became commonplace.
European Low-Cost Carrier Growth
Low cost airlines saw a 15.7% growth in passenger traffic in 2008 according to the latest statistics from the European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA). The association said its members – including Flybe, easyJet and Ryanair – had carried 149.5 million passengers, up from 120.7 million in 2007. The figures include new members clickair and Jet2 which account for 9.8 million passengers, taking the total down to 139.7 million. John Hanlon, secretary general of the ELFAA, said the statistics showed that "the low fares business model is robust, even in times of crisis in the aviation industry." "ELFAA member airlines continue to grow at a steady pace while maintaining high load factors," he said.
Frontier Airlines Secures DIP Commitment
Frontier Airlines said on Thursday it received a commitment for USD$40 million debtor-in-possession financing from Republic Airways Holdings. The airline, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 10, 2008, said the new financing, which matures in April, preserves its stability as it seeks a plan to emerge from bankruptcy later this year.