Airline Division News Items
Frontier Exits Bankruptcy as a Subsidiary of Republic Airlines Holdings
Frontier Airlines emerged from bankruptcy protection on Thursday under new ownership. Frontier is now a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings Inc., which beat out a bid from Southwest Airlines Co. Republic has said it will keep the Frontier name for its new subsidiary and there's no change to its frequent-flier program, so passengers are unlikely to see any difference in the airline now that it's out of Chapter 11 protection. Sean Menke, Frontier's president and CEO, said he is staying as Frontier CEO as well as becoming a Republic executive vice president and its chief marketing officer. He added, “We are looking forward to building our relationships and working with both Republic and Midwest Airlines to build a strong, sustainable, competitive airline for years to come”.
Republic is looking for ways to make the operation more efficient, possibly including moving Frontier's aircraft maintenance and some ticketing operations out of Denver because of high costs there. Nearly all of Frontier's flights come or go from Denver. where Frontier is up against much larger United Airlines as well as discounter Southwest Airlines Co. United plus its regional partners flew 44.3 percent of Denver's domestic passengers in July, versus 24.8 percent for Frontier and 15.2 percent for Southwest, according to the airport. Republic also took ownership of Frontier's regional unit, Lynx Aviation.
Teamsters Airline Division Director Sends Letters of Thanks to Unions That Supported the Amerijet Pilots and Flight Engineers.
David Bourne sent letters of thanks to unions that showed support for the Amerijet crews during their recent strike. An example is a letter to Captain Lloyd Hill, President of the Allied Pilots Association, which is attached. The unprecedented support is reflected in the following statement from the letter:
”For the first time in the history of the airline industry, working men and women from every walk of life stood in support of airline pilots. Each understood clearly that the fight of the Amerijet pilots was their fight as well. Every pilot understood that by standing with and supporting the Amerijet pilots, they were standing firm for the dignity and quality of life for each airline pilot, regardless of what they fly or who they fly for.”
Continental Mechanics Negotiating Committee and Company Exchange Economic Proposals
Section 6 Negotiations resumed in Houston, Texas on September 21st and continued until September 29, 2009.The committee continued to reach tentative agreements on the open non economic articles in order to reach a point where we were prepared to present our economic proposal to the company.
On September 29, 2009, the Company presented their economic opener in writing to the Union. The Union countered with our economic opener which consisted of Article 15 – Compensation and Appendix A – Wages. The company refused to counter our proposal and asked the committee to present another more reasonable proposal. The company’s proposal also came with a deadline of September 30, 2009, at midnight. The negotiating committee refused to counter itself and refused to work within the time constraints imposed by the company. We have asked the company for dates to continue negotiating. We do not have these dates as of now. The Union’s opening economic proposal will be made available by the locals.
General President Hoffa, Airline Division Director Bourne and Parcel & Small Package Trade Division Director , Ken Hall Lunch with Senator Rockefeller
Senator Jay Rockefeller met with the General President and David Bourne and Ken Hall at a luncheon at IBT headquarters on Thursday. Senator Rockefeller is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and a member of the Subcommittee on Airline Operations, Safety, and Security. See the Teamsters website for a picture of the luncheon.
United Mechanic Negotiations Cut Short—Will Resume in D.C. Next Week
Negotiations opened on Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Talks resumed where they had left off in the last meeting – with Article XVI (Transportation). The Union began by submitting its second proposal on this Article, followed by discussions. By the end of the day, the Union had not received a counter from the Company.
The Union Negotiating Committee is frustrated with the pace and progress of negotiations The Union Negotiating Committee feels that in order to place these negotiations on a positive and constructive track, the parties' current, Article-by-Article bargaining approach needs to be changed to a more phased approach, where the parties meet to hammer out multiple Articles that are inter-related. Accordingly, the Committee unanimously decided it would be a waste of time to proceed under the current process and advised the Company that it was canceling this week's second day of formal negotiations. Bargaining will resume next week on October 7th and 8th in Washington, D.C., at the IBT Headquarters.
The Company has emphasized that it is committed to negotiating a fair and equitable contract in a timely manner. The parties have agreed to regroup next week in Washington, D.C. and to work out the details of implementing a new bargaining approach as described by the Union Negotiating Committee.
Week in Review News Items
Labor Developments
Delta Air Lines has come out against the AFL-CIO's request for a rule change that would base the outcome of union elections at airlines on the number of votes cast instead of a majority of eligible members of a worker group. And Janice Loux knows a thing or two about putting up a fight. The head of Unite Here Local 26, which represents Boston hotel workers, is locking horns with Hyatt Hotels over its firing of 98 nonunion housekeepers – staffers replaced with lower-paid workers from a subcontracting firm.
Regulatory & Safety
The fate of British Airways’ planned venture with American Airlines and Spain’s Iberia drew a step closer to resolution late on Thursday, after European competition authorities issued their list of objections to the proposed transcontinental tie-up. And representatives of three Canadian provinces signed a “Declaration on Open Skies” this week at the 2009 British Columbia International Open Skies Summit in Vancouver. The document commits the provinces to advance research and communication activities that will result in more Open Skies agreements between the federal government and other nations.
Federal efforts to improve U.S. aviation safety after a deadly regional plane crash in February have hit major obstacles, sapping momentum for a reform effort that enjoyed broad political support earlier this year. The European Commission won't formally announce a baseline aviation sector CO2 emissions standard until mid-2010, postponing the announcement for the second time. And United Airlines Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton, in his role as ATA chairman, Wednesday called for large-scale government loans, loan guarantees and grants to jumpstart development and mass production of alternative fuels, including biofuels for the airline industry.
Airline Industry Finances
IATA reported yesterday that investors "looked more favorably" at airlines in September "as signs emerged of an upturn in this highly cyclical industry," but it reiterated that the worldwide industry is on pace for an $11 billion full-year loss. In its latest Airlines Financial Monitor released Thursday, the organization noted that oil and jet fuel prices were $10 per barrel higher in the third quarter than in the second quarter and $14 per barrel higher in the third quarter than in the year's first half. U.S. airlines' successful scramble to sell new debt and issue new shares has all but eliminated the near-term cash crises that some analysts had feared. But there's still huge amounts of risk involved, and analysts say that those who've been gobbling up more than $6 billion in airline paper and shares over the last three months could discover painfully just how much if business travelers willing to pay for premium seating don't return soon.
Miscellaneous
The hero’s accolades have died down and a new book is soon to be published, so US Airways announced that Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger will return to the cockpit as a management pilot… Republic Airways said Thursday it completed its acquisition of Denver-based Frontier Airlines for $108.75 million…Despite its busy legislative calendar, Congress may soon end years of debate by making an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights into law…Washington Dulles has opened an expanded International Arrivals building that doubles its capacity to handle passengers…Cellphone use on airplanes, it would seem, is on extended hold in the United States. The national union representing flight attendants wants Congress to ban in-flight phone calls.