Tilton Talks Mergers (again)

Once again the news is buzzing with airline merger talk. Foremost of the pack of course is Glenn Tilton spouting that the industry is “poised” for mergers and consolidation. The same talking points he used when Continental rejected his overtures for a merger. Hot on the heels of her boss, United CFO Kathryn Mikells parroted Tilton’s message, along with the CEO of U.S. Airways. Not surprisingly, however, despite this being “news’ there are still no specifics and no one is officially talking. Tilton has been claiming the industry is ripe for consolidation since 2002 and we’re still waiting for that prediction to come true 8 years later.

Despite Tilton’s single-minded efforts to find someone to buy the airline in the U.S. he’s been unsuccessful. Not surprisingly, he’s crying foul that foreign carriers are not allowed by our laws to merge with or buy a controlling stake in U.S. airlines. Tilton claims the industry is financially handicapped because he’s not allowed to sell United to foreign interests due to laws that exist for a very good reason: to protect U.S. jobs and the U.S. aviation industry.

So while Tilton’s efforts to find a merger partner or buyer have floundered, he has managed to find ways to systematically shrink United Airlines and significantly reduce our preeminence in the market. It wasn’t so long ago, that United was the number one airline in the world; now – we’re just one of the majors.

Thwarted in his efforts to sell United, Tilton chips away at our airline with applications for anti-trust immunity and pressing for open skies agreements.

Tilton’s siren’s song is that all these code-shares, joint-ventures and other exploitations of the law are good for the U.S. economy and creates jobs. So far the Open Skies agreements haven’t benefited United workers, the code-share with Continental has resulted in less flying done with United equipment and crews, the new airbus and Boeing planes ordered actually shrink our international fleet capacity, and most recently the joint-venture with Aer Lingus is an attack on our jobs and our airline. 

Tilton latest sob story to the media is that the industry is financially handicapped because they are not allowed to sell our airline to foreign carriers. The erosion of both our domestic and international market is already at a dangerous low. Selling off our flying to other carriers is not the path to a successful United Airlines. A merger may or may not be in our near or long-term future. We will fight Tilton and United management every step of the way on any plan that doesn’t better our airline and save and create jobs for United Flight Attendants.

Three New Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreements

Today, MEC President Greg Davidowitch announced three new Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreements effective March 9th. The new agreements are with ASA, Skywest Delta Connection and Republic Airways.

Several airlines are part of the Republic Airways Holding agreement. Chautauqua’s main hub is IND with additional hubs located in CLE, LGA, STL and CMH.  Shuttle America operates primarily in the south and southeastern corridor. Midwest Airlines and Frontier have hubs in Denver, Kansas City and Milwaukee. They operate flights within the Midwest, Florida, the northeast and Alaska. This agreement maintains the existing Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreement with Frontier.

The agreement with ASA applies to their Delta Connection flights only.  ASA is an ATL based airline and flies extensively in the south, southeast, northeast and midwest regions.

Skywest Delta connection has a strong presence in SLC with frequent service to Southern and Northern California destinations. They also have smaller hubs in ATL and MSP.

We can be proud of our persistent campaign to achieve Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreements as United Flight Attendants have the best Reciprocal Cabin Seat program among the major US airlines, now totaling 14 Agreements.  Check our Pay & Benefits section for all of the news on Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreements and other travel benefits.

French Air Traffic Controllers Conduct 5-Day Strike

It seems striking workers is synonymous with the airline industry these days. French air traffic controllers began a five-day strike on Tuesday. France’s civil aviation authority ordered airlines to cancel 25 percent of their flights at Charles de Gaulle Airport and 50 percent of flights at Orly. Some smaller provincial French airports were closed.

The French controllers are protesting European Union plans to integrate air traffic control systems under an initiative called the Single European Sky, which may result in job cuts and the loss of special civil servant benefits.