Current Extension Expires August 31
On Friday, pilots at
Southwest Airlines -- the most profitable US carrier -- voted to
reject the airline's offer of a one-year contract extension, in
favor of starting negotiations on a new pay deal.
The Dallas Morning News reports those talks will likely begin in
August. More than 80 percent of pilots represented by the Southwest
Airlines Pilots Association voted against the contract extension,
the union said.
"Our pilots are among the most experienced Boeing-737 pilots in
the industry and have the honor of working for an airline with an
outstanding management team," said SWAPA President, Capt. Ike
Eichelkraut. "We look forward to continuing the spirit of
partnership that has existed between our pilots and our Company for
more than three decades. For us, formal negotiations is a periodic
opportunity to adjust work rules and compensation for our pilots
while, at the same time, ensuring the continued growth, success and
profitability of our Company."
Pilots at the airline have worked under the same basic contract
for that past 12 years -- and despite the fact that Southwest
pilots are now the highest paid among US carriers (as pilots at
competing carriers have had to take sharp pay cuts in the current
financial climate) one analyst says the pilots have picked the
right time to try to get a better deal.
"Their people are the best paid in the industry but probably one
of the most productive, and that's the way they have to keep it,"
said Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl to the DMN. "I don't think
the one-year extension makes a difference. You're better off going
after a new contract."
Among the issues Southwest pilots are likely to address include
securing rights to operate more flights in the post-Wright
Amendment era, as well as insuring other routes don't go to pilots
at Southwest code-share partner ATA.
The airline says it welcomes talks... but CEO Gary Kelly has
cautioned pilots in the past to not expect a whole lot more than
what they're getting now.
"We have enjoyed pay rate increases every year, and that's a
remarkable accomplishment," Kelly said last month. "If pay rates
are going to continue to increase, we have to find ways to offset"
higher fuel costs.
Even with Southwest's legendary fuel-hedging program and low
operating costs... that has become increasingly difficult to do,
with the airline maintaining an average one-way fare of just over
$100.