Centerlines - June 2008 - (Page 14)

COVER STORY HOTTER THAN LAST JULY? Expired labor contracts have some analysts sweating before summer even starts B Y T HOM A S J. S M I T H he summer ahead may prove to be an “interesting” one for airports with last year’s congestion problems only intensified as airports are served by fewer, but fuller planes. Now, factor into the scenario the fact that many airline employees are working under the terms of expired labor contracts. Even though 20 airlines—major, low-fare and regional—have contracts with at least one labor group now open or that will become amendable this year, one labor attorney does not see a repeat of the summer of 2000. “I anticipate the job actions will be limited to informational picketing,” said Jerry Glass, president of F&H Solutions Group, a Washington ﬁrm that represents management in human resources consulting. “A slowdown like the one staged by United pilots in 2000 would not be tolerated. We are in very different times.” Contract issues are not the only items impacting the labor situation at the carriers this summer. While the major carriers are not experiencing a pilot shortage, the regionals are. “Some of the regionals have such pilot shortages that they are now having difﬁculties meeting their ﬂying obligations,” said Kit Darby, president of AIR, Inc., an airline pilot career information service based in Atlanta. The shortage is causing ﬂight delays or cancellations at some regional feeders that are now impacting the schedules of their mainline partners, he explained. T THE unions that gave back to the carriers earlier in the decade now have contracts that are becoming amendable. They want to get back what they gave up. Different Times The unions that gave back to the carriers earlier in the decade, Glass said, now have contracts that are becoming amendable. They want to get back what they gave up. 14 CENTERLINES | JUNE 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Centerlines - June 2008

Centerlines - June 2008 Contents President’s Message Canadian Airports Associates’ Corner Guest Column On the Hill and On the Stump Policy Center Cover Story: Hotter Than Last July? Revenue Arena: Building Non-Aeronautical Revenue Environment: Wind Turbines at Boston Logan Passenger Focus: Des Moines Deals with the Iowa Caucuses Safety and Security: Inline Explosives Detection Systems Air Service Recruitment: Holding on to What You’ve Got On Management: Managing Capital Programs Now Underway Grand Opening Conference Previews and Reviews New Members Index of Advertisers/Advertiser.com Box Scores

Centerlines - June 2008

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