Airline Division News Items
Link to Airline Division Dashboard Now on Teamsters Airline Division Webpage
To help you keep up with the news about all Teamster Airline Division carriers we have placed a link to the IBT Airline Division Dashboard on the Teamster website (http://www.teamster.org). News for each carrier is constantly updated and the Dashboard also has links to other news and various aviation forums and blogs as well.
The Airline Division webpage also has its own forum section where each Airline Division craft member can submit ideas, opinions, and questions and start a dialogue with other Teamster Airline Division members. It is necessary to register in order to participate. We hope all members feel free to participate in this new forum.
Piedmont Mechanics Reach Tentative Agreement on a New Contract
A tentative agreement had been reached between Piedmont and its IBT mechanics. This is the second attempt to reach agreement; the first attempt was voted down by the members. A vote will be taken on the new tentative agreement. Ballots will be mailed out on or about August 12, 2009.
Republic Airways Holdings Purchases
Midwest Airlines
Republic Airways Holdings, said on Friday July 31 that it completed the acquisition of Midwest Airlines from Texas private equity group TPG Capital. Indianapolis-based Republic said it paid TPG $6 million in cash and has issued a $25 million five-year note that can be converted to Republic stock at $10 a share. The company said Midwest, which is based in Wisconsin, would operate as a Republic unit, flying under its own name. The Teamsters represent Republic Holdings pilots, flight attendants and fleet and passenger service personnel. Parties will be meeting to discuss integration issues.
Frontier and Teamsters Mechanics Enter into Long-term Wage and Benefit Agreement
Frontier Airlines and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Local 961, today announced entry into a consensual, long-term labor agreement and a comprehensive settlement of the Company's litigation under Section 1113 of the Bankruptcy Code.
The agreement modifies the wage and benefit reductions Frontier obtained from its IBT-represented employees under a Bankruptcy Court order last November. The new agreement's modified wage and benefit reductions are comparable to the consensual reductions Frontier has obtained from its other employee groups. The settlement, if ratified, also will resolve the ongoing appeals of last year's Bankruptcy Court order.
The proposed agreement, which is endorsed and supported by IBT leadership, will now be put before Frontier's maintenance employees for a ratification vote. The IBT anticipates it will hold the ratification vote on the agreement and count ballots by Aug. 20.
"Frontier and the IBT worked together to negotiate an agreement that takes into account the best interests of Frontier, the IBT and, most importantly, all of our maintenance employees," said Frontier President and CEO Sean Menke. "I applaud the IBT leadership for working with us to reach this agreement. It provides us with cost assurances and labor certainty as we proceed with the upcoming auction process and our anticipated emergence from bankruptcy."
"The Teamsters Union and its members understand the importance to our members and to Frontier of this agreement," said Matthew Fazakas, President and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 961. "On behalf of the IBT leadership, we fully endorse this agreement and will work to achieve ratification as promptly as possible."
Bidding for Frontier in the Bankruptcy Proceeding is Scheduled for Next Week
Southwest has indicated it will put in a firm proposal for Frontier Airlines on Monday August 10, the court deadline for firm bids. Since Republic Airways Holdings has also bid for Frontier, the bankruptcy court procedures call for an auction to take place next week.
Week in Review News Items
Safety and Oversight
An airline executive whose plane crashed earlier this year told a Senate panel Thursday that had the airline "known what we know now … he would not have been in that seat," referring to Colgan Air Flight 3407. Captain Marvin Renslow, had failed five pilot tests, known as 'check-rides,' three of which occurred before he joined the airline. Renslow had revealed only one of those failures to the airline, according to Colgan. Reporting for work three days in a row at 5:40 a.m.
helped fatigue two go! airline pilots who fell asleep during a morning flight from Honoluluto Hilo, Hawaii, in February 2008, NTSB said in its final report. FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt said he will "close the gap" if a government rulemaking committee fails to develop regulations aimed at curbing pilot fatigue.
Global Airline Industry Financial Developments
Japan Airlines, Asia's biggest carrier, said Friday that it lost one billion dollars in the previous quarter as the global economic downturn and swine flu fears caused a slump in passenger numbers. Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Alan Joyce said while industry conditions have stabilized since April, the short-term outlook for the industry "is dire," with 20 airlines expected to collapse this year, he said. Consolidation is back on the agenda with merger activity accelerating in Europe and, to a lesser extent, the U.S. IATA said second-quarter financial results reported by airlines to date show "disappointingly small" improvement and cautioned that "stabilizing" passenger demand is "largely due to fare discounting" rather than a broad economic recovery.
Business Travel Trends Worth Following
In a trend that could transform the way companies do business, Cisco Systems has slashed its annual travel budget by two-thirds — from $750 million to $240 million — by using similar conferencing technology to replace air travel and hotel bills for its vast workforce. Likewise, Hewlett-Packard says it sliced 30 percent of its travel expenses from 2007 to 2008 — and expects even better results for 2009 — in large part because of its video conference technology.
Britain is aiming to replace short-haul aviation with high-speed rail travel and plans for such a network are well advanced, Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis told the Guardian newspaper.
Passenger Rights Legislation
It is likely Congress, after two years of debate on the issue, will adopt regulations this fall setting specific standards airlines have to meet to deal with "tarmac delays" of three hours or more. U.S. airlines in June turned in their worst on-time performance since December, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday. And in an announcement that will surprise few who travel by air, Sen. Charles Schumer Sunday released statistics showing New York
's three major airports are the worst in the country for on-time arrivals, with Kennedy and LaGuardia airports doing worse this year than last.
Miscellaneous
Southwest's bid to buy out bankrupt Frontier in Denvermay be viewed as a sign of its failure in the market. By nearly every measure, Southwest has underperformed in Denver. This was to be Boeing's summer of triumph. Dozens of its groundbreaking 787 Dreamliners were supposed to be in commercial airline service around the world by now, changing the nature of global air travel.