The pilots of Continental and United Airlines have decided to throw a whopper on the table and see if the stink gets them anywhere in their negotiations for a unified pilots’ contract for the proposed ContiUnited merger.  They want an end to all outsourcing of flights.  In other words, they want ContiUnited pilots to fly all the flights.

Never. Gonna. Happen.

Pilots want job security and I can’t blame them.  The investment in both time and money towards their career makes them much more tied to an airline to earn a living than most people experience in their lives.  The seniority system just compounds that issue for them even more. 

But airlines aren’t going to agree to eliminating regional airline partners for their flying.  They can’t.  It isn’t economically viable at the labor rates insisted upon by unions of these legacy airlines.

Each part could give a little on this.  Regional airlines don’t offer just cheap pilots.  They offer flexibility and less expensive flight attendants and even less expensive maintenance.   Both parties need to find a way to offer employees better job security in exchange for more competitive costs.

Given that this is most important for pilots, it seems to me that the SuperLegacy airlines might be better served by “leasing” not only their aircraft but their employees to these regional airlines in down times.  In other words, craft an agreement that allows the SuperLegacy pilots to displace the regional partner pilots when their laid off.  Lease those pilots at the regional partner rate and, at the least, preserve some job security. 

It’s one way to work within the seniority system.  A system that, frankly, pilot unions are using to make their membership become indentured to airines.  It’s a system that I disagree with but if you must preserve it, at least find some flexibility within it.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax