United Exec Says Pilot Shortage Will Erode ULCC’s Edge
KEY POINTS:
- A shortage of pilots will increasingly erode the cost advantages long enjoyed by US discount airlines while improving the competitive position of giants like United Airlines.
- That is according to United head of corporate development Michael Leskinen, who on 23 February pointed to the USA’s controversial “1,500-hour” pilot rule as driving the change, which he calls a “new paradigm”.
- “We have never had a better set up,” says Leskinen, who is also United’s vice-president of investor relations and president of United Airlines Ventures, the airline’s technology investment arm.
- Leskinen backed his comments by describing broad changes now affecting the US airline industry.
- He notes carriers are unable to expand their fleets as quickly as they would like due to Airbus and Boeing being unable to keep up with delivery commitments – a result of aerospace manufacturing supply constraints.
- He also says limited supply of pilots will increasingly hinder the ability of ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) and low-cost carriers (LCCs) to maintain cost advantages.
- “There is no carrier out there – whether its a regional carrier, an LCC or a ULCC – that can attract pilots unless [they] want to pay the going rate for pilots,” says Leskinen. “The incremental capacity from legacy carriers is going to be [at] similar cost, or lower cost, than incremental capacity coming from the ultra-low-cost carriers.”
Flight Global
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FedEx Pilot Union Inches Closer To Strike | Unanimous Approval For Authorization Vote
KEY POINTS:
- The union representing FedEx pilots unanimously approved a strike authorization vote last week, according to a Wednesday press release.
- Contract negotiations between FedEx management and the FedEx Express Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association International have stalled, with no future talks scheduled, the release said.
- “The decision to move closer to a strike authorization vote is the result of nearly six months of federally mediated negotiations that has led to our disappointment with FedEx management’s actions at the bargaining table,” said FedEx MEC chair Captain Chris Norman.
- FedEx pilots have been in negotiations with management since May 2021. According to a statement on the FedEx pilots’ website, pilot leaders allege the company has failed to “acknowledge pilot contributions.”
- “ALPA leadership’s approval to possibly conduct a strike authorization vote at some future time has no impact on our service as we continue delivering for our customers around the world,” FedEx said in a statement.
- Tensions have been high as the airline industry rebounds from the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to record losses of around $35 billion in 2020. Contract talks with pilots and flight attendants were further derailed by the pandemic, all while the industry faces a pilot shortage and rising costs.
- A strike would occur only if negotiations break down and the federal government authorizes a walkout following required procedures of the Railway Labor Act. Both sides would have to be released from mediation by the National Mediation Board, which was brought in to assist with contract negotiations in October.
CNBC
We Just Got A Pilot With A Gear Up Landing Hired At A Major
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Frontier & Avelo Add Cities | United & Air Canada Expand Schedules
KEY POINTS:
- Airlines keep expanding their route networks and building out their schedules as the pandemic recovery continues.
- In the last week, United Airlines and its partner Air Canada, Frontier Airlines and Avelo Airlines all announced new routes.
- For travelers, new flights can often mean good deals, and with airlines reporting record profits recently on the backs of high airfares, it's smart to jump on offers when they're available.
- United and Air Canada announced more service between their home countries, while Frontier added a new route to the Caribbean and Avelo said it will soon begin its first flights to Texas.
USA Today
Aviation Industry Turns to Childcare | Free iPhones to Lure Workers
KEY POINTS:
- The North American aviation industry is wooing workers with daycare centers, cheaper transport and free iPhones to compete in a tight market where salaries for entry-level, low-skilled jobs often lag those at e-commerce companies like Amazon.
- Shortages of workers like baggage handlers and customer service agents led to long lines and delayed luggage during the peak summer travel season last year, marring the industry's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and spurring demand for new initiatives to attract workers.
- "If you want people to work crazy shifts, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the day, you need to be able to accommodate their family life too," Thomas Romig, vice president at airport trade group Airports Council International, or ACI World, said of services like daycare.
- "Airports are taking more actions to try and recruit, retain and train (or) upskill workers."
ACI, which has member airports around the world, is now preparing guidance for them on making jobs at 24-hour centers outside city cores more friendly to workers.
- Job sweeteners are necessary because average pay for U.S. airport workers at just under $18 an hour drastically lags that of e-commerce employers like Amazon (AMZN.O), which pay almost $33 an hour on average, according to ZipRecruiter.
- Childcare programs have been one response. Apart from airports in California, they are not usually offered at North American airports. But that is changing.
- The city of Phoenix's aviation department, which runs the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, has launched a childcare program for airport workers and plans to build a childcare facility on airport property. The department, which has about 900 full-time positions, currently has 133 of 171 job openings still unfilled.
- Since its launch, 37 airport workers have joined the program, which covers daycare costs partially. The city of Phoenix is also spending $1 million to develop a separate childcare facility next to the airport
Reuters
We Just Got A Pilot With 2200 Hours Hired At A Legacy
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2023 HIRING EVENTS
Delta Pilot Career Expo | MAR 6 | ATL
Frontier Meet-the-Chief's | MAR 16 | Dallas (registration link TBD)
American Airlines | MAR 21-22 | Houston (registration link TBD)
Delta Special Military Only Event | MAR 24 | JAX
TPNx | APRIL 21-22 | MCO
PAPA | MAY 18-19 | LAS
OBAP | AUG 9-11 | MSY
RTAG | OCT 7-8 | FTW
