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Aviation Industry Updates: May 16, 2023

James Onieal : May 16, 2023 9:57:36 AM

Industry News Export

United Airlines Pilots Picket For Higher Pay

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As experts forecast record-breaking summer travel numbers, pilots from United Airlines arranged picket lines at major airports on Friday as they push for higher pay.
The pilots, who fly for one of the world's biggest airlines, have been working without a raise for more than four years while negotiating with airline management over a new contract.
Even though the pressure is building, the United pilots are unlikely to strike anytime soon. Federal law makes it very difficult for unions to conduct strikes in the airline industry, and the last walkout at a U.S. carrier was more than a decade ago.
The coast-to-coast protests by United pilots come on the heels of overwhelming strike-authorization votes by pilots at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. United pilots could be the next to vote, according to union officials.
Pilots at all three carriers are looking to match or beat the deal that Delta Air Lines reached with its pilots earlier this year, which raised pay rates by 34% over four years.

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Southwest Pilots Authorize Strike

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Southwest Airlines Pilots Association members have given their union a virtually unanimous strike mandate as negotiations with the airline grow increasingly tense. A total of 99 percent of 98 percent of the union’s approximately 10,000 members voted to authorize a strike if it’s permitted by the National Mediation Board. There’s a lot of legal ground to cover before it ever comes to that so a strike is far from imminent, but it was noteworthy enough for both parties to comment on Saturday.
The company said the vote won’t affect its approach to negotiations, which are still going on. It also stressed that it will have no effect on flights. “Our negotiating team continues to bargain in good faith and work toward reaching a new agreement to reward our pilots,” said VP of Labor Relations Adam Carlisle. Union President Casey Murray said the vote marked a “historic day” for both the union and the company. “The lack of leadership and the unwillingness to address the failures of our organization have led us to this point,” Murray said.

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Wheels Off At Wheels Up

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Wheels Up was to have been the follow up story to its Founder’s previous successful foray into private aircraft charter. Instead, he just stepped down as CEO as losses mount and its stock sinks to pennies on the dollar.
Over the past decade the company steadily increased its revenues to an impressive $1.58 billion in 2022 but has not yet turned the corner on losses, which totaled a staggering $555 million. While year-over-year revenues increased during the first quarter of 2023, so did net losses as the number of members waned.
The company has said it can stem these losses next year but Wall Street has already cast its vote, with the New York Stock Exchange-registered stock falling from its initial offering price of around $10 in July, 2021 to just 28 cents at last check. A plan was recently proposed for a reverse stock split to avoid being delisted by the Exchange.
After mortgaging the planes it owned, Wheels Up built a cash war chest of $585 million by the end of 2022, which shrunk to $363 million by the end of this March. Continuing at this burn rate cash might only last until the end of this summer, a situation the company is proactively trying to improve by optimizing its operations while considering the sale of non-core assets.

Forbes

NY Lesser-Known Airport Suffers A Big Blow From Frontier Airlines

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Despite $220 million in improvements over the years, New York's Stewart International Airport (SWF) is about to lose one of its three airlines.
Frontier Airlines filed plans over the weekend to drop service to SWF on July 2, as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.
The Denver-based discounter has had a rocky history with service to Stewart, which is roughly 70 miles northwest of Manhattan. Frontier originally entered the market in October 2021 with flights to Miami, Orlando and Tampa. It later expanded its route portfolio to include Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
However, the airline has been quietly paring back service on a route-by-route basis over the past few months, leaving just Orlando left as of April 2023. Now, the airline is calling it quits on the market, closing its station there entirely.
"We periodically review and update our routes based on demand, seasonality, and other factors. We value our partnership with New York Stewart International Airport and will continue to evaluate a potential return at some point in the future," airline spokesperson Jennifer de la Cruz shared in a statement.

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