January 8, 2010 Newsletter

Integration Talks Begin For Republic, Midwest, Frontier and Lynx Pilots

The Republic Integration Committee began negotiations about pilot list integrations in Dallas on January 5th, with representatives from Frontier, Midwest and Lynx in attendance. All parties agreed to a confidentiality agreement designed to prevent the undermining of the process and promote the best possibility of moving forward post-integration. The process is scheduled to move quickly, with negotiations in January and mediation scheduled for two weeks in February. Should a resolution between the parties not be reached, the case will be presented for arbitration in March.

United Mechanics Accelerated Negotiations Begin in Chicago

The Local 856 bargaining team met in Chicago on January 5th and promptly held a union-only meeting to begin preparing for month-long accelerated negotiations. As opposed to the normal process of passing proposals back and forth, the parties first identify the core issues that need to be addressed in each Article. After identifying them, the parties will collectively discuss the underlying issues and work to develop possible alternative solutions until an agreement can be reached. While it is hoped that this approach can be productive and lead to a comprehensive agreement, the union negotiating team is willing to revert back to traditional bargaining if the process is unsuccessful. This week's bargaining sessions involved discussion on Article 10 – Seniority, Article 16 – Transportation and Article 25 – Union Representation. At the conclusion of Thursday's bargaining session, the Union and Company reached a tentative agreement on Article 25 – Union Representation.

Airline Division Director Meets with Amerijet Pilots

Airline Division Director David Bourne met with pilots from Amerijet on Wednesday January 6th. In his first meeting with them since their successful resolution of their strike and signing of their first contract. He reminded the members that the support of the Teamsters did not end at the conclusion of the strike. He fielded questions from the members and also pledged Airline Division Support as they work towards the forming of an ASAP program.

Local 1224 Reaches Agreement on 75 Million Dollar Pilot Severance

Teamsters Local 1224 reached an agreement with ABX Air, Inc. on the disbursement of $75 million for pilot severance and other payments. Under a Severance and Retention Agreement between ABX Air and DHL, the disbursement provides relief to approximately 420 ABX Air pilots as promised by DHL in 2008. The first ABX Air furloughs began in January 2009 with another 30 crewmembers slated to be furloughed this month. Local 1224 has been fighting for the release of pilot severance for nearly a year and is pleased to report that furloughed crewmembers are finally receiving the assistance they were promised.

Week In Review News Items

Aviation System Security

Airline groups expressed support for new U.S. rules that mandate tougher screening for passengers traveling to the U.S. from 14 designated countries and ease a requirement that all U.S.-bound passengers be subjected to enhanced screening measures…however, more stringent screening launched from these 14 nations are ineffective and unconstitutional, civil liberty groups charged…an unruly passenger aboard a Hawaii-bound airliner on Wednesday prompted the pilot to return the plane to Portland, Oregon, escorted by two military fighter jets, in the latest of several U.S. aviation security scares this week.

President Barack Obama mid-week announced increased airline security measures following a meeting with top national security aides to discuss a response to the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 – U.S. border security officials learned of the alleged extremist links of the suspect in the Christmas Day jetliner bombing attempt as he was airborne from Amsterdam to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed.

Airline Industry Finances & Structure

WestJet Airlines reported a record load factor on Wednesday, saying it flew fuller planes in December as it improved call centre service after stumbling with a new reservation system – U.S. regional airline operator Mesa Air filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, and said it would trim its oversized fleet and emerge as a stronger company

International Aviation Developments

On the face of it, this week's announcement of a tie-up between Jetstar, the low-cost subsidiary of Australian carrier Qantas, and Air Asia seems like a lite version of the proposed merger between British Airways and Iberia - a group representing business travelers is opposing the proposed tie up between Delta Air Lines and money-losing Japan Airlines, saying it would be bad for competition. Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, said Thursday that the proposed SkyTeam alliance would likely create a monopoly, totaling 62 percent market share on routes between Japan and the U.S., up from a third.

Miscellaneous

The Obama administration surprised many with its Dec. 21 announcement of tough new rules requiring airlines to let passengers off planes if they face a three-hour delay on the ground – budget airline Ryanair has been criticized by a business watchdog for being "puerile" and "childish" over parts of its charging policy - the 19 largest domestic airlines in November collectively recorded their best-ever monthly on-time performance and set a record for the lowest rate of mishandled bags, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data released today – the ink is hardly dry on the Department of Transportation's three-hour tarmac rule and travel professionals, while still in favor of the rule, are calling its effective date this spring to be postponed by as much as eight months.