But Show Of Unity Is Just That For Protesting Pilots
There's no going back now. This week, US Airways -- the carrier
formed after the September 2005 merger of the old US Air and
America West -- received a single operating certificate from the
FAA.
"This is a very important milestone, reflecting two years of
hard work combining and refining two sets of policies, procedures,
manuals, checklists and computer systems for virtually every area
of the airline," said US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker.
"Achieving an integration of this magnitude in just 24 months is
unheard of in the airline industry and a fantastic result."
As ANN reported, the two
carriers merged -- with America West lifting US Air out of
bankruptcy in the process -- on September 27, 2005.
Senior Vice President of Technical Operations Hal Heule -- who
led the effort -- congratulated the Operations and I.T. teams and
thanked the FAA for their guidance, oversight and support.
"This very complex process proceeded on time, smoothly, and was
a testament to cooperation between our work groups and regulators.
I'm very proud of this team and the important work they
accomplished here," Heule said.
Achieving the single certificate
allows the airline to operate as one US Airways with one set of
policies, procedures, computer systems, maintenance and flight
control systems.
The next step in the airline's integration is to achieve single
contracts with pilots, flight attendants, and ground and
maintenance employees -- who will continue to work under terms of
transition agreements reached after the merger.
Merging the two workforces has proven to be no easy task. On
Thursday -- the one year anniversary of the merger -- US Airways
pilots planned to picket at Reagan National Airport to demand that
management provide them with the same wages as their America West
counterparts.
Both pilot groups, represented by the Air Line Pilots
Association, Int'l (ALPA), fly the same aircraft, routes and
passengers.
America West pilots now earn about $20,000 more per year under
their old contract, than US Air pilots do under theirs. US Airways
pilots initially believed the merger would bring about pay
parity... but that hasn't happened.
Furthering the animosity between the two pilots groups, in May a
federal arbitrator ruled pilots coming from America West should receive seniority over those at US
Airways who are returning off furlough, as a
reflection of that company's importance in rescuing US Air from
Chapter 11.
"Our pilots committed an astounding $6.8 billion to enable US
Airways to successfully reorganize. Our wages were reduced by
nearly fifty percent and our pensions were terminated. We agreed to
more flexible schedules that separate us from our families more
each month and work us to the legal maximum, which has caused
fatigue among the pilot group," said US Airways Master Executive
Council Chairman Captain Jack Stephan.
"While we could rightfully expect to be treated much differently
for making truly heroic decisions, we simply ask that we be treated
the same as the America West pilots," Stephan added. "Instead, two
years have passed, and we're still waiting. Even worse, we watch
management reward themselves with lucrative bonuses paid for by the
loss of our pensions. We call that bankruptcy profiteering."
As part of Thursday's picket action at Reagan International, US
Airways pilots engaged in a "Do Your Own Job" campaign... which
encouraged pilots to focus solely on their responsibilities, and
not cover for any operational shortfalls until they are compensated
accordingly.
US Airways pilots have also said they sympathize with
passengers' frustration about the state of US Airways operations --
including the airline's "well-documented customer service
problems."
"We've watched as management attempts to whitewash US Airways'
dismal operations and dismal employee relations," Stephan said. "It
is apparent that management's attention to customer service is
indicative of how they treat their employees.
"A motivated and invested workforce may be in the distant
future, but for now, management will not see any degree of labor
peace until they treat employees like the integral part of the
airline that they are," he added.