 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Comair strike launches labor strife
Compiled from Times wires © St. Petersburg Times, published March 27, 2001 HEBRON, Ky. -- A strike by Comair pilots Monday forced the nation's second-largest regional airline to cancel hundreds of flights and left some passengers scrambling to book new travel arrangements. Monday's strike might be only the first of several disruptive labor disputes to snarl business travel and ruin vacations this year. The nation's travelers also face potential disruptions involving mechanics at Northwest Airlines and United Air Lines, pilots at Delta and flight attendants at American Airlines. David Oppermann, publisher of the Travel Alert Bulletin newsletter, called the series of disputes "horrendous" for travelers. "I have never seen a greater group of labor problems ganged up at one time," he said. The strike is the first against Comair in its 24-year history. The airline had warned of the cancellations Sunday, and many of its passengers transferred to other airlines, including Comair's corporate parent, Delta Air Lines Inc. A few Florida state lawmakers returning to the 2001 legislative session had to rebook with US Airways after their Comair flights to Tallahassee from Orlando were canceled. Comair extended flight cancellations through 11 a.m. Wednesday. The airline normally serves 25,000 passengers with 815 departures daily. Comair, which also flies under the name Delta Connection, serves 95 cities in North America and the Bahamas. The 1,350 pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, want a company-funded retirement plan, more rest between flights, higher pay and the right to be paid for all hours they are on the job, not just actual flying hours. "I think it's fair to say that there was not a single Comair pilot that wanted this to happen, but we have prepared for this mentally and financially and we are together," union spokesman Max Roberts said. Comair president Randy Rademacher told non-striking employees: "You shouldn't be angry at the pilots. They want more pay, they want better benefits, they want more respect for what they do. Everybody in this room wants that. I want that." The White House said President Bush, who this month blocked a strike by Northwest Airlines mechanics, has no authority to intervene unless federal mediators determine the impasse is hurting the economy and a presidential commission is set up. The president earlier this year said he intends to prevent any airline strikes this year. That provoked protests from the labor movement, which said Bush was undercutting its position at the bargaining table with airlines. In choosing not to halt the Comair strike, Bush said the National Mediation Board did not make the request in the Comair dispute as it had in the Northwest case. "They did not give me the right to move in on the strike," Bush said during a visit to Kansas City, Mo., to promote his tax cut plan. "And therefore the parties are going to have to settle it themselves." Negotiations with a federal mediator in Washington broke off Sunday and no new talks have been scheduled. Union spokesman Don Skiados said talks will not resume without urging from the Bush administration. Passengers are relying increasingly upon regional airlines such as Comair, as larger carriers shun less-traveled routes. One of every eight U.S. airline passengers now flies on a regional carrier, with more than 80-million flying on the smaller planes every year. Regional airlines are expected to grow much faster, on a percentage basis, than their larger brethren over the next decade on routes within the United States, Federal Aviation Administration statistics show. The number of regional airlines' passengers grew 7.4 percent a year between 1995 and 2000 compared with 4 percent for the major carriers during the same period. Between 2000 and 2012, the regionals' passenger load is projected to rise by 5.7 percent annually compared with 3.6 percent for the majors, whose numbers continue to shrink. "The economics of the regionals are very favorable," said Darryl Jenkins, director of George Washington University's Aviation Institute. "Their whole thing is serving secondary markets. They're flying to different cities." The biggest threat to the regionals' growth is the cost of operating their planes, especially labor costs, Jenkins said. While Comair, for example, offered to boost the pay of top-scale pilots from $66,000 to $96,000, that is still less than the $200,000 salary for top pilots of the major airlines. - Information from the Associated Press and Knight Ridder Newspapers was used in this report.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times Business report
From the AP
|
