Joining With America West Announced September 27, 2005
September 27 marked three full years in which US Airways
management has failed to complete their merger between the old US
Air, and America West. Today, the airline is entangled in labor
disputes... lawsuits... customer service issues... and public
perception as
a nickel-and-dime outfit, willing to sell its
soul for a $15 service fee.
Adding its chorus to the chaos is the US Airline Pilots
Association... formed earlier this year when US Airways pilots
(that is, pilots from the old US Air operation) voted to remove the
Air Line Pilots Association as their collective bargaining agent,
saying ALPA had done little to represent their interests in early
joint contract talks.
As ANN reported, a federal arbitrator
presented a seniority formula in June 2007 that based pilot ratings
on aircraft type, with pilots ranked by seniority within each group
based on their time at their respective airline, and how many
aircraft of that type are within the combined US Airways fleet.
Under the proposal, the top 517 pilots came from US Airways... but
the trouble began when talking about first officer rankings, which
US Air pilots said favored their younger counterparts coming from
America West.
As a result, today US Airways pilots still work under different
Collective Bargaining Agreements left over from their former
airlines... each having a different set of work rules and pay
rates. They are not permitted to fly each other’s aircraft,
or intermix crews.
While neither side is willing to budge from its stance (and,
indeed, USAPA faces discord within itself, from former America West
pilots) USAPA President Stephen Bradford says management is to
blame for the current crisis.
"What the Delta and Northwest managements did in just a couple
of months, US Airways Management hasn’t been able to do in
over three years," Bradford states. "Management’s inability
to complete the merger of US Airways and America West, coupled with
their apparent focus on short term, quick-return management
philosophies, is costing our Company in a big way."
According to USAPA figures, for the first six months of 2008 US
Airways ranks a dismal 18th out of 19 on the Department of
Transportation's consumer complaint list... a "sobering change"
from the airline’s top rankings in years prior to the
merger.
"Our situation causes confusion, inefficiencies and severe
morale problems that carry over into the airline’s operation.
No wonder we have to charge our passengers for water," said
Bradford. "We see these inefficiencies day after day and at times
they create passenger delays and prevent the Company from achieving
its potential."
USAPA states merging US Airways and America West into a single
airline, with a single Pilot Collective Bargaining Agreement, would
allow management to capture synergies that would benefit US
Airways’ passengers, investors and employees alike and go a
long way towards positioning the airline for a secure future.
That is, as long as management doesn't ask US Air pilots to give
up very much...
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