JUST OFF THE "JUST PLANE NEWS" PRESS
Even more daunting for the management of a merged US Airways-America West Airlines than improving Philadelphia service may be integrating the unionized pilot and flight-attendant workforces at the two carriers, airline analysts say. The job is expected to take two to three years to complete.
Numerous aspects of pilots' and flight attendants' jobs, including pay and duty assignments, are based on seniority. Because US Airways is an older company, and thousands of its less-senior employees have been laid off since 2001, most of those still on the payroll have more seniority than those at America West.
"Labor is a really difficult issue," said Michael Roach, an airline consultant in San Francisco who was a cofounder of America West. "The history of mergers is fraught with problems." At the same time, Roach said, W. Douglas Parker, who will lead the new US Airways, "has shown real skill in dealing with labor problems to date."
Even more daunting for the management of a merged US Airways-America West Airlines than improving Philadelphia service may be integrating the unionized pilot and flight-attendant workforces at the two carriers, airline analysts say. The job is expected to take two to three years to complete.
Numerous aspects of pilots' and flight attendants' jobs, including pay and duty assignments, are based on seniority. Because US Airways is an older company, and thousands of its less-senior employees have been laid off since 2001, most of those still on the payroll have more seniority than those at America West.
"Labor is a really difficult issue," said Michael Roach, an airline consultant in San Francisco who was a cofounder of America West. "The history of mergers is fraught with problems." At the same time, Roach said, W. Douglas Parker, who will lead the new US Airways, "has shown real skill in dealing with labor problems to date."