Pilot ire plagues US Airways merger
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US Airways pilot slowdown blamed for delays
Gannett News Service - Sunday, May 13, 2007
PHOENIX - Last weekend, shortly after US Airways pilots learned where they rank on a long-awaited seniority list, the airline's on-time performance plunged.
Half the Tempe, Ariz., airline's flights were delayed last Sunday - levels not seen since its March meltdown - but without the reservation-systems problems or winter weather to blame. Coincidence or concerted slowdown?
The airline attributed the poor performance to packed planes and said it held flights so it didn't strand passengers.
But pilots privately told a different story. They said some former US Airways pilots on the East Coast - frustrated that many now rank below less-tenured America West pilots - didn't show up for work, did the minimum required or took their time on routine items.
After the list came out, a Charlotte-based pilot warned in a posting on a union message board: "Get ready because this is about to get real ugly."
The tension and fallout over seniority underscores the significant challenges ahead - for the company and potentially for travelers - as US Airways tries to clear the highest hurdle of its 20-month-old America West-US Airways merger: combining its 36,000 employees into a single work force.
The airline is in contract negotiations with four major employee groups at once: pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and baggage handlers. Executives need to bring the employees from both airlines under a single contract.
Until then, the airlines are effectively separate, with their own planes and flight crews. That has fostered an "Us vs. Them" attitude and prevented the airline from creating a united culture, so critical to the success of mergers.
US Airways isn't the only carrier grappling with a labor issue, although its problems are far more widespread than those facing other airlines.
American pilots recently asked the airline for a 30 percent raise and noted executives' bonuses and stock-option riches. Northwest's unions are balking at a big bankruptcy exit-pay package for that airline's CEO, and United workers are banding together to protest executive compensation.
At US Airways, rancor is steadily mounting, and the airline hasn't begun to tackle sticky issues like pay.
Regards,
USA320Pilot
See Story
_______________________________________________
US Airways pilot slowdown blamed for delays
Gannett News Service - Sunday, May 13, 2007
PHOENIX - Last weekend, shortly after US Airways pilots learned where they rank on a long-awaited seniority list, the airline's on-time performance plunged.
Half the Tempe, Ariz., airline's flights were delayed last Sunday - levels not seen since its March meltdown - but without the reservation-systems problems or winter weather to blame. Coincidence or concerted slowdown?
The airline attributed the poor performance to packed planes and said it held flights so it didn't strand passengers.
But pilots privately told a different story. They said some former US Airways pilots on the East Coast - frustrated that many now rank below less-tenured America West pilots - didn't show up for work, did the minimum required or took their time on routine items.
After the list came out, a Charlotte-based pilot warned in a posting on a union message board: "Get ready because this is about to get real ugly."
The tension and fallout over seniority underscores the significant challenges ahead - for the company and potentially for travelers - as US Airways tries to clear the highest hurdle of its 20-month-old America West-US Airways merger: combining its 36,000 employees into a single work force.
The airline is in contract negotiations with four major employee groups at once: pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and baggage handlers. Executives need to bring the employees from both airlines under a single contract.
Until then, the airlines are effectively separate, with their own planes and flight crews. That has fostered an "Us vs. Them" attitude and prevented the airline from creating a united culture, so critical to the success of mergers.
US Airways isn't the only carrier grappling with a labor issue, although its problems are far more widespread than those facing other airlines.
American pilots recently asked the airline for a 30 percent raise and noted executives' bonuses and stock-option riches. Northwest's unions are balking at a big bankruptcy exit-pay package for that airline's CEO, and United workers are banding together to protest executive compensation.
At US Airways, rancor is steadily mounting, and the airline hasn't begun to tackle sticky issues like pay.
Regards,
USA320Pilot
