Airline Division Week In Review May 17, 2014

Unity Conference Concludes

Airline Division Director David Bourne, International Representatives and representatives of Airline Division Locals and the TAMC were in Las Vegas this past week for the Teamsters Unity convention.

Members attended workshops and presented reports on various events and groups within the Division and the Teamsters. A very productive week was reported with members leaving more focused on continued efforts to provide increasing levels of service and representation to the membership.

Airline Industry News

Governmental and Regulatory

A U.S. Airways regional jet was nearly involved in a mid-air collision with a drone while flying over the Florida panhandle

The Transparent Airfares Act would boost the U.S. airline industry by removing onerous advertising rules imposed by the Department of Transportation, writes blogger Vinay Bhaskara.

Airlines, Industry and Labor

American Airlines just renewed a 5-year lease at Rio West Business Park in Tempe, Ariz., and plans to bring hundreds of new accounting, information technology and customer service jobs.

Alaska Airlines, long a target of labor activists calling for a $15 minimum wage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, said Friday it has negotiated a pay raise to $12 an hour for entry-level employees who work for its local vendor partners.

Pedro Fábregas, the CEO and president of Envoy Air, reassured employees about the future of the regional carrier. "As American has previously stated, 25 of our Embraer 140 aircraft will be retired by the end of 2014 and Envoy will continue to fly approximately 200 aircraft for the foreseeable future -- including our 47 larger Bombardier CRJ-700 aircraft," he said.

Financial institutions and banks plan to step up financing for aircraft, according to a survey from Boeing, which found 70% of institutions active in the sector planning to increase financing.

JetBlue Airways CEO Dave Barger, 58, is weighing his next steps and considering possible succession plans when his contract expires next year, according to the carrier's board of directors.