July 27, 2013 Newsletter

Piedmont Discussions Continue 

Negotiations for Piedmont continued with the company and union negotiating committees resuming direct discussions on Tuesday, July 23rd, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

In addition to further discussions on Vacations, the IBT committee presented the Company with a comprehensive economic proposal. 

The Company took some time to estimate what they believe the cost of the Unions proposal to be and some further discussion on economics took place. 

While the union feels that a good deal of progress in a short period of time, they reminded members that economic discussions can take additional time as both sides research cost estimates and craft appropriate proposals. 

The Company advised the union that they would have a response to the economic proposal when the parties reconvene on August 26, 2013.

Airline Industry News 

Governmental and Regulatory 

The sequester slashed funding for the Federal Aviation Administration, and industry leaders say funding needs to be restored for the air transportation system to function properly. 

The final report on the crash of a UPS 747-400 freighter in Dubai has now been released.  

Airlines, Labor and Industry 

Southwest Airlines is looking forward to the end of the Wright Amendment restrictions in 2014, which limited the carrier's routes from Dallas.  

The U.S. airline industry reported strong results for the second quarter, in part because more carriers are focused on serving routes that generate revenue and charging for optional service offerings. 

Boeing plans to ramp up production of its 787 Dreamliner at its facility in Washington. "We remain highly confident in the future of the 787 program and the integrity, safety and performance of the airplane," said CEO Jim McNerney. Boeing projects the aircraft manufacturer will deliver 60 Dreamliners this year.