ALPA unit responds to Eagle news
American Eagle pilots union chairman Capt. Herb Mark said Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) officials were awaiting a meeting with airline executives about the proposed divesture of American Eagle by American Airlines parent AMR Corp. "Any new ownership would be subject to our existing collective bargaining agreement," the statement said. "Nothing is more important to ALPA than resolving the issues that have created strained labor relations between pilots and management. For several years pilots have been forced to fly more hours in a day because of understaffing."
Airlines 'proactive'about first big storm
Winter weather concerns had airlines lining up solutions in advance of the season's first big storms. United Airlines announced before the Thanksgiving weekend's Midwestern snowstorm that it would "proactively" cancel some flights and rebook customers on others. Also reacting to the storm forecasts, Northwest Airlines allowed many customers scheduled to travel the first weekend of December to fly earlier or later than originally scheduled "without penalty or administrative change fees."
Delta pilots developing consolidation strategy
Unionized pilots at Delta Airlines are planning ahead for the impact of industry consolidation. The governing body of the Delta Air Lines pilots union met recently in Atlanta to discuss consolidation and union strategy, according to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). "Consolidation is an ever-present possibility in the airline industry and at some point may become inevitable or even desirable," the news release said. "A hasty and ill-conceived merger attempt would be disastrous."
Pact seen triggering mergers, fare cuts
The Open Skies agreement that will end four carriers' dominance of traffic between London's Heathrow Airport and the United States is comparable to "a new battle of the Atlantic," said an article on Barron's Online. "A study prepared for the European Union by the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton suggests that the initiative will generate at least 26 million additional trans-Atlantic passengers annually within five years, a 50-percent increase over the current 50 million," said the article. In the more competitive environment, it said, fares would likely fall 10 percent or more; the changes also could trigger a round of airline mergers in Europe.
Record passengers, record delays
U.S. airlines were on track to transport a record number of passengers during 2007, reported the Associated Press from Washington, citing a government agency study. Despite the industry's well-publicized struggles with delays, more than 522 million passengers traveled on U.S. airlines the first eight months of 2007, reported the Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That was up 3.4 percent from the same period in 2006. Another record was the 81.2-percent-full domestic and international flights during the period. But "the industry's on-time performance in 2007 is the worst since comparable data began being collected in 1995. More than 24 percent of flights arrived late in the first nine months of 2007," the report said.
Colgan to serve 9 new cities
United Airlines announced service to nine new East Coast cities from Washington-Dulles International Airport. Service between Dulles and Bradford, Penn.; Jamestown, N.Y.; and Parkersburg, W.Va., was to begin January 7, 2008. Service to Altoona and Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Beckley, Clarksburg, and Morgantown, West Virginia; and Shenandoah Valley, Va., will begin later United Express regional partner Colgan Air will provide the service, using 34-seat Saab SF-340 aircraft.
Frontier eyes fuel costs
Soaring fuel costs have forced Frontier Airlines to cut 100 "corporate employees" in Denver and target fleet reductions, reported the Denver Business Journal, citing company sources. Some $5 million in savings are expected from the workforce reduction, which did not include any pilots, flight attendants, or other employees who work directly with aircraft. Fleet size and future deliveries would be evaluated, said Frontier President Sean Menke. Frontier has a fleet of 60 Airbus 318, 319 and 320s. "The cost of jet fuel has climbed 18 percent since October," Menke said.
Continental offers greener 'footprint'
Continental Airlines late last year announced the launch of a carbon offsetting program developed in partnership with nonprofit Sustainable Travel International. The voluntary program "allows customers worldwide to view the carbon footprint of their booked itinerary, which Sustainable Travel International calculates from fuel consumption of Continental's aircraft," the news item said. The carbon-offsetting option was in keeping with a company-wide commitment to environmental responsibility. The airline said it has achieved almost a 35-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption per mainline revenue passenger mile flown over the past 10 years.
