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Pilots unions for US Airways, American Airlines meet in N.C
Ely Portillo | McClatchy Newspapers
CHARLOTTE, N.C — The unions representing US Airways and American Airlines pilots will seek to negotiate together for a joint contract as the airlines move closer to a possible merger, officials from both unions said Monday in Charlotte.
The president of the Allied Pilots Association, Capt. Dave Bates, visited Charlotte to talk to members of the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, or USAPA. He answered questions about job security, pay rates, and other contractual issues from about 50 US Airways pilots at the union's headquarters.
Bates rated the odds of a merger "very high."
Capt. Gary Hummel, president of Charlotte-based USAPA, said it would be in both unions' best interest to work together. "We both agreed there's more value for both our unions if we work together," said Hummel.
USAPA represents about 4,300 active US Airways pilots, 1,463 of them in Charlotte. Coming to an agreement for a joint contract with the Allied Pilots Association's 8,000 active pilots could smooth the path for a US Airways-American merger, which US Airways has been pursuing since American parent company AMR Corp. sought bankruptcy protection last year.
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The deal would raise American pilots' pay rates by 5.5 percent, Bates said, to rates that are substantially higher than US Airways' rates. The hourly rate for a captain of a narrow-body jet would go to $177, for example, well above the $125 an hour a US Airways captain gets now.
The unions would have to agree to a collective bargaining agreement, approve a transition agreement, decide who will represent the combined pilot group and integrate their seniority lists. If they fail to do so and a merger happens, they could end up in arbitration.
"Even though we're looking forward to a cooperative effort, my job is absolutely to protect USAPA pilots first," said Hummel.
The potential merger could also end a long-running internal dispute between former America West and US Airways pilots. Although both are now represented by USAPA, the pilots have been unable to agree on a combined seniority list since the airlines' 2005 merger. The groups of pilots still fly under separate contracts with separate pay rates and work rules.
The seniority dispute is the subject of a federal court case in Arizona. But now, with more money on the table and US Airways motivated to pull off a merger, union officials said they're hopeful they can finally resolve the internal dispute.
The pay raises in a joint pilot contract would be paid for, Parker has said, by combined revenue and cost synergies that would come from merging the airlines. Even with higher wages, the new American Airlines would still have $1.2 billion a year in additional revenue to repay creditors, Parker said.
Bates said Monday that he hopes American will stop fighting US Airways' merger plan. "I don't think that would serve American in the long term," Bates said. "I would hope American could see this is a better option for all of American's constituencies."
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is Tempe, Ariz.,-based US Airways' busiest hub, with 630 daily flights and more than 7,000 employees based there. Bates said he thinks Charlotte would fare well in a merger, because American lacks an East Coast connecting hub. "I think Charlotte will probably be a more significant international gateway," said Bates.
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Pilots unions for US Airways, American Airlines meet in N.C
Ely Portillo | McClatchy Newspapers
CHARLOTTE, N.C — The unions representing US Airways and American Airlines pilots will seek to negotiate together for a joint contract as the airlines move closer to a possible merger, officials from both unions said Monday in Charlotte.
The president of the Allied Pilots Association, Capt. Dave Bates, visited Charlotte to talk to members of the U.S. Airline Pilots Association, or USAPA. He answered questions about job security, pay rates, and other contractual issues from about 50 US Airways pilots at the union's headquarters.
Bates rated the odds of a merger "very high."
Capt. Gary Hummel, president of Charlotte-based USAPA, said it would be in both unions' best interest to work together. "We both agreed there's more value for both our unions if we work together," said Hummel.
USAPA represents about 4,300 active US Airways pilots, 1,463 of them in Charlotte. Coming to an agreement for a joint contract with the Allied Pilots Association's 8,000 active pilots could smooth the path for a US Airways-American merger, which US Airways has been pursuing since American parent company AMR Corp. sought bankruptcy protection last year.
...
The deal would raise American pilots' pay rates by 5.5 percent, Bates said, to rates that are substantially higher than US Airways' rates. The hourly rate for a captain of a narrow-body jet would go to $177, for example, well above the $125 an hour a US Airways captain gets now.
The unions would have to agree to a collective bargaining agreement, approve a transition agreement, decide who will represent the combined pilot group and integrate their seniority lists. If they fail to do so and a merger happens, they could end up in arbitration.
"Even though we're looking forward to a cooperative effort, my job is absolutely to protect USAPA pilots first," said Hummel.
The potential merger could also end a long-running internal dispute between former America West and US Airways pilots. Although both are now represented by USAPA, the pilots have been unable to agree on a combined seniority list since the airlines' 2005 merger. The groups of pilots still fly under separate contracts with separate pay rates and work rules.
The seniority dispute is the subject of a federal court case in Arizona. But now, with more money on the table and US Airways motivated to pull off a merger, union officials said they're hopeful they can finally resolve the internal dispute.
The pay raises in a joint pilot contract would be paid for, Parker has said, by combined revenue and cost synergies that would come from merging the airlines. Even with higher wages, the new American Airlines would still have $1.2 billion a year in additional revenue to repay creditors, Parker said.
Bates said Monday that he hopes American will stop fighting US Airways' merger plan. "I don't think that would serve American in the long term," Bates said. "I would hope American could see this is a better option for all of American's constituencies."
Charlotte Douglas International Airport is Tempe, Ariz.,-based US Airways' busiest hub, with 630 daily flights and more than 7,000 employees based there. Bates said he thinks Charlotte would fare well in a merger, because American lacks an East Coast connecting hub. "I think Charlotte will probably be a more significant international gateway," said Bates.
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