Injured Pilot Moved Home, Long Road to Recovery Road Ahead
Republic Airlines First Officer Robert Amey; critically injured last month when he was hit by a car on a layover in Savannah, Georgia, was transported from Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, near his home, on December 9th. Now out of his coma, Robert does have random movements of his arms and legs and has started therapy to work on gaining back his motor skills, however is not yet responding to direct questions.
His wife Elizabeth, extends her sincere thanks to all who have assisted Robert and the family during their time of need with their support, thoughts and donations.
Local 357 has started a grass roots effort to assist the Amey family with family and future legal expenses. Donations may be sent to:
Teamsters Local Union No. 357
Attn: Amey Family Grass Roots Donation
6100 Clarks Creed Rd. Suite 100
Plainfield, IN 46168
Week In Review News Items
Labor Developments
Delta made it a clean sweep in the union election process, winning its third major victory Tuesday as customer service workers voted not to unionize…pilots are targeting the end of this month to resolve their dispute with United management over the continued outsourcing of mainline jobs to regional airline counterparts…during a 44-year airline industry career, Pat Friend became a leader in a world shaped by two key societal trends: the emergence of women and the diminution of the labor movement. Friend, 64, will step down at the end of this month as president of the Association of Flight Attendants.
Legislative, Safety & Regulatory
Two passengers were killed and 83 others injured on Saturday when two engines failed on a Russian passenger jet, a Tupolev Tu-154, shortly after takeoff and the third engine cut out as the plane made an emergency landing, skidding off a snowy runway and breaking apart…FAA is missing key information on who owns one-third of the 357,000 private and commercial aircraft in the U.S. — a gap the agency fears could be exploited by terrorists…trouble began 18 months ago, when a person working for a supplier to Koito, a large manufacturer of airplane seats based in Yokohama, Japan, warned the country’s aviation agency that some Koito seats might not be in compliance with safety standards…and a French court Monday found Continental Airlines and a mechanic at the airline guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their role in the 2000 Concorde crash that spelled the end of the supersonic airliner.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
Airline executives are mostly optimistic that higher fares will continue to boost revenue, but JetBlue warned Wednesday that ticket sales for the holiday season could be weaker than expected and lowered its outlook for the fourth quarter…airfares are on the rise again and unlikely to fall again anytime soon. According to the U.S. DOT, the average domestic airfare (excluding checked luggage and other ancillary fees paid after ticketing) jumped 13% from $301 to $341 in the second quarter of 2010 vs. the previous year.
American Airlines has mounted an all-out effort to protect its powerful Dallas-Fort Worth hub, in order to counter the recent expansion of Virgin America into its home territory. American needs to flex its muscle, because DFW is also about to be under attack from a merged AirTran-Southwest and American is feeling exposed as Delta and United look to use their clout for strategic gains. So the battle lines are drawn: a high quality smaller, low-cost airline against the muscle of network carrier American, right at the heart of its operations…and Brazil and the U.S. reached agreement on a framework for a so-called open skies pact by 2015. Under the agreement, restrictions on the number of flights between the two countries would be lifted from next year, and rules on the busiest routes, mainly to Sao Paulo, would be eased from 2013. Brazilian airlines joining global alliances would be immune from U.S. antitrust law, the WSJ reported.
Miscellaneous
Airlines posted no tarmac delays longer than three hours in October, following a decline of such incidents since a new tarmac delay rule went into effect in April. It was the first month with no tarmac delays longer than three hours in at least two years…there is little doubt that requiring travelers to undergo a full-body scan showing a clear picture of all body parts or a pat-down touching sexual organs is unconstitutional, if it is a condition of traveling by air. The Fourth Amendment states, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated."