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Aviation Industry Updates: May 23, 2023

James Onieal : May 23, 2023 10:39:32 AM

Industry News Export

American Pilots Reach Agreement In Principle

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American Airlines (AAL.O) pilots have agreed in principle on a new contract that boosts their pay by 21% in 2023, sources told Reuters on Friday, ahead of a busy summer travel season, after years of negotiations with the largest U.S. carrier.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents over 13,000 pilots at Texas-based American, said on Friday it will move forward with completing contractual language before presenting the contract to its board for an approval.
However, the union did not share contract details.
American did not quantify the contract value but said it provides pay and profit sharing that match the top of the industry with improved quality-of-life provisions.

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Justice Department Wins Lawsuit To Undo JetBlue, American Partnership

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A federal judge Friday ordered American Airlines and JetBlue Airways to end their partnership in the Northeast, a win for the Justice Department after it sued to undo the alliance arguing it was anti-competitive.
The lawsuit, filed in September 2021, alleged that the airlines’ alliance was effectively a merger that would hurt consumers by driving up fares. The trial began a year later in Boston and wrapped up in December.
“Today’s decision is a win for Americans who rely on competition between airlines to travel affordably,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The Justice Department will continue to protect competition and enforce our antitrust laws in the heavily consolidated airline industry and across every industry.“
Both airlines expressed disappointment with the decision and said they were considering next steps.
“It makes the two airlines partners, each having a substantial interest in the success of their joint and individual efforts, instead of vigorous, arms-length rivals regularly challenging each other in the marketplace of competition,” U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin said in his ruling.

CNBC

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Quality Of Life Issues Are At The Heart Of Contract Talks

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In the departures hall of Washington Dulles International Airport, hundreds of uniformed United Airlines pilots filed silently past travelers pulling suitcases and children toward the check-in kiosks.
Faces stoic, they carried signs with messages such as "Fix our schedules!" and "Future pilots are watching."
Such protests have been staged at airports all across the country in recent weeks, as United, American and Southwest airlines have all been engaged in contract talks. Quality of life issues have taken center stage.
Negotiations actually began in 2019, but the pandemic delayed any increase in pay for years. Then, Delta pilots secured a 34% raise on March 1 and United and American have said they will match that.
What remains unsolved is a question so many workers have asked themselves since the coronavirus upended every job in the country: How do I better balance my work with my life?

NPR

Airlines and FAA Try to Head Off Summer Travel Meltdowns

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The number of Americans who will fly this summer could eclipse the pre-pandemic high from 2019. That would be great news for airlines, but it could also cause a backlash against the industry if it fails to keep up with demand and delays or cancels thousands of flights.
The recovery from the pandemic has been punctuated by several major travel meltdowns, stranding millions of travelers and angering lawmakers and regulators. In recent months, the Transportation Department has proposed requiring greater transparency around airline fees and requiring companies to more fully compensate people whose flights are delayed or canceled.
A major misstep could increase political pressure on lawmakers and regulators to take a harder line against airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration, which directs air traffic and has also had notable failures in recent years.
“I don’t think they can afford to have a summer like they did last year,” said William J. McGee, a senior fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project, a research and advocacy group that has criticized consolidation in the airline business. “This pattern they had last year of canceling flights at the last minute, in many cases due to crew shortages, that’s just unacceptable. They’re not going to be able to do that again, I don’t think, not without some serious repercussions.”

Yahoo News

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