fly747first

US Airways Flight Attendants Authorize Strike Activities

POSTED: 1:09 am EST December 14, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Flight attendants at US Airways have overwhelmingly authorized their union to engage in strike-related activities should a federal bankruptcy court permit management to cancel its collective bargaining agreement with its employees.

"Our sisters and brothers have given voice to a clear and unmistakable message: 'Enough is enough,"' Pat Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, said Monday.

Friend said flight attendants for US Airways, which has its largest hub in Charlotte, N.C., will engage in intermittent strikes on flights, with the union choosing the dates and locations.

US Airways last month asked a bankruptcy judge in Alexandria, Va., to cancel the collective bargaining agreement for flight attendants and several other unions. The airline wants to impose a 15 percent pay cut on the flight attendants, with no pay raise until 2008, and eliminate their pension plan.

"We will not stand by while our employers destroy our careers in a desperate attempt to cover for their own mistakes," Friend said.

US Airways, bankrupt for the second time in two years, is seeking to transform itself into a low-cost carrier in the mold of America West or JetBlue. The airline says it needs to drastically cut worker pay, change work rules, terminate its remaining pension plans and eliminate most medical benefits for retirees to become competitive with such airlines.

Christina Ulosevich, manager of employee communications for US Airways, said the airline is continuing to negotiate with flight attendants and wants an agreement both sides can accept without a court ruling.

She also said the company's position is that a strike by the flight attendants is illegal under the current contract.

About 5,200 AFA flight attendants work for US Airways.

Jumpgate

I agree with other sentiments ... this is a negotiation tactic. Sad, but true, and the fact that the vote went this way is not surprising nor unexpected.

Every FA I've spoken to thinks that a deal will be brokered without a strike or court intervention. This vote just gives the union a little bit more leverage in negotiation.

Unfortunately, this, as in all other negative US news, will affect bookings.

US AIRWAYS FAN

I am not sure how much it will affect bookings. I was really shocked to see that US Airways had it´s highest load factor for any month in the companies history this past November. Seems like people are still booking on US.

olde hornet

I think you will see a big drop in December and January until all strike possibilities have ended.

KosraeTV

Load or Paid Pax?? I'm serious not trying to be a jerk here, I don't fly US Airways at all but know employees there so I'm following this with interest.

I know my parents and friends are flying US Airways using up all benefits they have but that's not paid revenue for US Airways.

So I'd assume that many people are using up whatever benefits they have before / incase they don't get out of trouble. And if everyone is using up their benefits then this isn't cash revenue for US Airways. So the load count wouldn't be a good judge would it?

US AIRWAYS FAN

There are only so many award seats given out on any flight. I am not sure what they percentage is but I know it's not at or above 40%. I All's I know there have been two posters so far on flyer talk that have said (in other threads) where US posted a profit for the month of Nov. I am interested if anyone can find out where that information can be found.

T

karens

This is definitely affecting bookings. My husband's company's President's Club trip is in Mexico in Feb. We picked our USair flights we wanted to take and forwarded them on. We were told that we couldn't book on USAir. The travel agency handling the bookings are recommending that no flights be booked on USAir b/c of the threat of liquidation. I'm sure they are not the only travel agency recommending this: think of the nightmare this would be for the travel agency re-booking flights and all the unhappy clients in the event of a shut down. It's easier to book elsewhere.

Except for us. We fly out of PHL, where USAir is the predominant carrier. Alternative flights on other airlines resulted in long layovers in Atlanta. This trip lasts only 5 days and we didn't want to waste most of it waiting for planes. We are taking our chances on USAir still be around in early Feb. I hope we made the right decision; we shall see.

I am amazed here sometimes at the optimism. I am more concerned than many of you.

steves

I need to visit my parents in march in FLL - I always fly USAirways and am now waiting until January to buy my tix - I have been Gold for 3 years and have already booked flights through feb. - but now I think I'll just hold off until I see what happens. I know i can rebook or get my money back from the credit card company - but all this news and the thought of the hassle (I did this with Eastern and needed to get reimbursed from the credit card company - not a biggie but forms to fill out) have me holding off. There must be many like me.

ByrdluvsAWACO

It's called company kool-aid.

martin33

that's any November in the company's history. it certainly ought to be higher because capacity didn't change much, and 30% of the system has left the gouge-a-thon fare system and is onto Go Fares. That could be good or bad, according as the new riders provide enough revenue to overcome the lost higher fares. Unfortunately, the overall effect was a net revenue negative in November: unit revenue (RASM) is down over '03 by quite a bit-- 7%. This is worse than October, when RASM was down 2.9% relative to '03..... [None of which addresses the cost side, which apart from the Labor category is sure to look bleak.]

-------------from the 8-K filing:
*****Mainline revenue passenger miles for November 2004 increased 2.0 percent on a 1.3 percent increase in available seat miles compared to November 2003. The passenger load factor was 73.1 percent (a record for any November in the company's history), which is a 0.5 percentage point increase compared to November 2003.
...
*****Mainline system passenger unit revenue for November 2004 is expected to decrease between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent compared to November 2003.

LAX

I think the threat of strike and/or liquidation is definitely hurting business. Even I, traveling mostly for leisure, have changed my booking routine because of it (I usually fly the lowest fare I can find that also earns FF miles). I recently booked a connecting flight out of PHL at a slightly higher fare because of the fear of strike/liquidation. I sure hope US can come through and survive because I prefer non-stop flights (I fly mostly out of PHL). Plus I stand to lose a fair amount of DM if it folds. I guess we shall see!

On a slightly different note, I was wondering if the FA's strike and trigger liquidation, how long would it take for US to actually cease operations? Do you think an early January award trip on US would be safe?

LAX

tods27

Not to sound like an anti-labor person, but just how exactly does forcing your company into liquidation save your career? The AFA has effectively limited career possiblities for flight attendants by removing the benefit of job portability (based on the seniority system).

I chalk this all down as negotiating tactics.

bofie

They'd cease flying immediately. No FA= no flight per FAA rules

LAX

What I meant is if the FA's strike and then they and US management miraculously come to agreement during the strike, would US continue to cease operations and become liquidated or would it start flying again until it actually runs out of money?

LAX

FWAAA

My prediction is that if a strike occurs, and US loses even a day or two of scheduled operations, it is over. If US stops flying, it won't restart, even if a settlement occurs.

The 3 day shutdown from September 11 to September 13, 2001 cost US alone hundreds of millions of dollars - Congress doled out $5 billion to the entire industry to compensate it for the lost revenue for that week.

Airline liquidations (the formal court process) take quite a while, but the service shutdowns occur very swiftly. All of a sudden, every airplane is recalled to a particular city, and overnight, the airline ceases to operate. Everyone is told to NOT report for work, and everything is locked up.

About the Jan trip? I have no idea. But the prognosis for US is bleak.

Even the threat of a strike (and/or management's threat of liquidation) might affect revenue sufficiently to kill US even if a strike never happens.