2014 Fleet Service Discussion
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WeAAsles
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Tim Nelson said:
Tim I thought you might find this interesting. It's from an Airline analyst I follow named William Swelbar.
A Race to the Bottom »
I shouldn’t have been surprised to read that the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has joined forces with several U.S. carriers in fighting a foreign carrier permit for Norwegian Air. After all, in ALPA’s view, the Ireland-based carrier is in a “race to the bottom” in establishing wage rates and working conditions for its workers.
This blog isn’t, however, about Norwegian. It’s about the race to the bottom that has been a part of the network carriers’ DNA for decades. It is about the relationship between mainline and regional carriers. It is about the fact that low labor rates at regional carriers cross-subsidize the higher rates paid at the mainline, and what that could mean to hundreds of communities.
I need more than fingers and toes to count the number of smaller airports that are deeply concerned about their future as a dot on the airline network grid. Many of these communities have strong underlying economics that suggest that their place on that map is safe. But as the industry evolves, that is not necessarily the case. The real question is whether the network carriers will actually need all of the feed from their regional partners to fill those mainline tubes as they serve only bigger and bigger markets? At risk is service to smaller communities as airlines gravitate to only the largest markets in a network map that could look much like it did when deregulation began with the primary difference being a map that is hub-centric.
In my opinion, the industry went too far during restructuring in its use of third-party providers in the out stations. It made sense when the industry was trying to bank every possible nickel and, perhaps, makes some economic sense today. But the fact is that no third-party provider really cares about an airline’s customers the way an in-house employee does. As airlines compete more on service, this has to change.
I fear that, in investing in this industry, the focus on the mainline ignores the critical piece of the network served exclusively by regional carriers. When it comes to regional lift, business still goes to the lowest bidder. And one result is that regional pilots get whipsawed despite the fact that there is a real live pilot shortage that will impact the industry well beyond the regionals.
Part of the blame goes to Congress which, in its infinite wisdom, now requires 1500 hours of flying to qualify for a commercial pilot license. And while Congress mulls more hearings, the regional carriers are suffering the consequences, intended or otherwise.
New flight and duty time rules only compound the problem. With the day’s last inbound flight often canceled, the first departure in the morning is also affected. And in small communities, these are the flights that allow business to be conducted in a day. This is not the fault of the airlines any more than it is the fault of employees who are “timed out” for the day. The customers, however, pay the price, as do the small communities so reliant on reliable air service.
Meanwhile airfares for service to those small communities continue to rise even as larger markets gain the benefit of more competition. Those customers are not, however, getting more for their money.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a fervent believer in the direction the mainline airlines are going. Recent investments in the fleets, cabins, services and people of the mainline carriers are making for a much better product– domestically and internationally. But I am disgusted with the price the regional carriers and their people are paying, be it through the whipsaw or the general neglect of a critical component of our domestic air service.
When a market doesn’t fit, it’s time to attrite. So let’s start trimming back that service now rather than delaying the inevitable. Let’s begin to build a pool of pilots to service the 250 or so markets that will make the cut – a pool big enough to meet the demand driven by Washington’s arbitrary regulations. ALPA advocated for consolidation for all of the right reasons, first and foremost a stable industry. So why is it only the mainline pilots who should enjoy that benefit?
ALPA cannot make its race to the bottom case against Norwegian without first addressing the race to the bottom here at home – a downward plunge the union itself created. The economics of the regional market are distorted, influenced by middlemen and unresponsive to consumer demand. Now is the time for the industry to work with ALPA to fix the problem – and that probably involves bringing some, if not all, of the work back in-house.
WeAAsles
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This man is highly regarded and called upon within our Industry Tim. And he has the credentials and history to back it up. It is an absolute counter to your assessment of how you see things though.
http://www.swelblog.com/swelbar/
http://www.swelblog.com/swelbar/
NYer
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P. REZ said:
P.Rez,
Reverting back to the 7 flights for the duration of the agreement was an attempt to try and safeguard three stations that was at the border of going under the newly established 15 flight threshold. There was move off from their original number of 20 flights to 15 flights, but that left 3 cities in jeopardy. In order to address that issue it was agreed that we would go back to the 7 flight threshold for the duration of the agreement.
At the same time, there was/is an MOU which would solidly protect those stations and even open up others. Unfortunately, there were changes in the TWU this past September and it isn't know how that MOU would be treated.
The portrayal of this is being presented in a manner that it seems a bit shady or there was some stealth maneuvering by the AA negotiating team.
Kev3188
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With all due respect, you are either grossly overestimating the "wiggle room" some stations have w/r/t to the annual dept. threshold, or grossly underestimating your mgmt. team.WeAAsles said:
They might not cut short (or discontinue) a route. But run, say, a red eye at less-than-daily during the offseason? Cut a few mid week frequencies out? You bet.
Don't worry; they won't cut the routes packed with business travelers. It'll be the ones full of super sAAver fares (or whatever they're called now), and other low yield traffic.
That revenue is tea in the ocean compared to the fixed labor expense they'd save in the long run. If the opportunity presents itself, they won;t think twice. Wouldn't be the first time, either...
Kev3188
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How many annual departures do SAT, ATL, and SJU have respectively right now?NYer said:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070212080207/http://www.cwa.net/news/page.jsp?itemID=27504576700UW said:
US Airways CWA’ers have voted overwhelmingly for the proposed alliance…
October 13, 2005
http://web.archive.org/web/20070726074220/http://www.cwa.net/news/page.jsp?itemID=27504522
US Airways passenger service pay step freeze will be lifted, Holiday Option II will be resumed, and Mainline Express agents will be increased to the Mainline rate of pay...
December 6, 2005 CWA Local Officers and Staff
The new Passenger Service Employee Association IBT + CWA has reached an Interim Transition Agreement with US Airways management on all the outstanding seamless service and transition issues, and we will accordingly withdraw our change of control grievance. After two months of negotiations by the committee (CWA Local Officers, attorneys and staff and IBT attorneys and staff) the agreement calls for the following:
The NMB officially certifies the IBT-CWA Association as the certified representative for the US Passenger Service Employees
May 1, 2006
CWA
The National Mediation Board has made their determination official; the Airline Customer Service Employee Association, IBT-CWA (Association), is now the certified representative of the entire craft or class of passenger Service Employees at US Airways. No organization or individual filed to intervene within 14 days of the Board's April 4. 2006 determination.
US Airways agreed to recognize the CWA/IBT Association as the legal representative of the agents and agreed not to intervene as a result of the Interim Transition agreement they signed with the Association. NMB Certification
WeAAsles
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The only station out of the 3 mentioned where I think unfortunately that risk could exist would be SJU. It used to be a jump off point to the rest of the Carribean for AA but the Airport raised the takeoff and landing fees and wouldn't budge when AA threatened to shrink service. So AA gave up a lot of it to Jetblue for codeshares and made the flights they did keep more direct point to point.Kev3188 said:
That and the fact that Moody's just downgraded the credit rating of Puerto Rico to junk status doesn't bode well. The economy of a particular city and how much you can get for fares also plays a major role in continued service.
WeAAsles
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I'm not going to lie to you Kev. I don't know how to look that up. But I do know what a friend told me in DFW. That there are currently 15 flights per day to SAT with a reduced schedule on the weekend. But I think there are a few other hubs that have a few flights there also.Kev3188 said:
NYer,NYer said:
Let me clear this up, I do not think your negotiating team did anything shady, I think they did good considering circumstances they were in. Tim has not been in these situations whereas I have, so believe me I understand what this management team is all about and I know that it is easy for Tim or anybody else who hasn't been there to say they could do better.
If my memory serves me you do not have the MOU to help you with station openings. Your first MOU had that but it was re-worked once or twice and I don't think you have that anymore because of the stock you received. Going by memory though so don't quote me.
P. Rez
http://web.archive.org/web/20070714001824/http://www.cwa.net/news/page.jsp?itemID=27504603Tim Nelson said:
Your CWA Local Presidents Recommend A Strong Alliance to Maintain Our Passenger Service Careers
September 19, 2005 CWA US Airways Local Preside
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