vagabond

In another thread, I already asked what kind of a damn fool name is OpenSkies for an airline. If I start an airline, I'm going to name it CheapSeats or SardineCan or something.

From Associated Press:

LONDON - British Airways and its pilots union agreed Thursday to enter mediation over pay and benefits for the airline’s new subsidiary, OpenSkies.

The agreement came just hours after the British Airline Pilots Association announced that its members had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

“We have no quarrel with the traveling public and have always maintained that these issues could be resolved through negotiation rather than confrontation,” said Jim McAuslan, the union’s general secretary.

Airline Chief Executive Willie Walsh said he was confident of reaching an agreement.

An independent mediator will be called in to discuss the issues with both sides and encourage an agreement, but the outcome will not be legally binding.

The union said 86 percent of those who voted were in favor of striking. The pilots oppose British Airways’ plan for OpenSkies because they believe staff would be offered lower pay and benefits.

British Airways said OpenSkies posed no threat to the pay and working conditions of pilots.

“We have offered to make these guarantees part of our industrial agreements with pilots,” the airline said in a statement.

The union, which represents about 3,000 BA pilots, said a strike against British Airways would be the first since 1980. It has set no deadline for taking action.

British Airways has said OpenSkies will begin service to New York from either Brussels or Paris using a single Boeing 757 in June. A second aircraft will start flying to the other European city later this year.

Most of the 82 seats on the aircraft would be dedicated to first-class and business-class travelers, with only 30 in the economy section.

The new airline takes its name from the Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and the European Union, which allows airlines to fly from anywhere in the Europe Union to the United States and vice versa.

Bellerophon

Having learned, over many years visiting the USA, that the same words can sometimes have rather different meanings on either side of the pond, allow me to clarify a couple of points.

...British Airways and its pilots union agreed Thursday to enter mediation...

BALPA and BA have agreed to go to Conciliation, with a neutral third party - probably, but not definately - the government body called the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, or ACAS.

This is not binding mediation or arbitration.

ACAS defines their Conciliation service as:

• Sorting out the issues
• Finding common ground between the two sides
• Helping people calm down and view problems from the other side
• Having separate meetings with each side to discuss the issues
• Meeting both sides together to start negotiating a solution
• Helping both sides to reach their own agreed solution

BA walked away from the negotiating table, prior to the strike ballot, and said discussions with BALPA were finished. Now BA apparently want to talk again!

The ACAS procedure allows them to do so without getting too much egg on their corporate face, and, not surprisingly, the media are being briefed by BA that this is a big climbdown concession from BALPA.

The process is not binding on either party, and attendance at a conciliation hearing does not invalidate the BALPA strike ballot. If no progress is made, in a timely manner, BALPA will announce strike dates.


...over pay and benefits for the airline’s new subsidiary, OpenSkies...

Pay and benefits have all been agreed for some time now, and are not the issue.

This dispute is solely about whether OpenSkies pilots should be BA pilots on the BA master seniority list (the BALPA position) or whether they should be OpenSkies pilots, on their own seniority list, working for a separate company owned and run entirely within BA (the BA position).


On a side note, to those of you who work for AA, many thanks for the recorded videocast message of support from your APA Chairman and the personal visit to our meetings by an APA representative. Both were greatly appreciated and extremely well received.

The briefings, from both AA and Qantas union reps, regarding American Eagle and Jetstar, were very informative, as was the briefing from the Aer Lingus union rep, who was a union rep when our current CEO was also an Aer Lingus union rep!

Best regards

Bellerophon

KoruPilot

I'd say that we all hope that is goes well for you guys. We are in discussions regarding subsidiary jet operations (outside the scope clause of 70 seats) with the company at the moment; Jetstar and our own ex subsidiary Freedom are fresh in everyones minds. All the best with it.

Below, for interest sake, is an excerpt from the CBA of our good friends at FedEx. I think they did a very good job of summing up for their agreement how we feel, how we want our CBA to look, and hope that the aviation world will proceed in the future:

From CBA Sec 1.B.3:
All Domestic and International revenue flights conducted with aircraft that are owned, leased, or operated by the Company, having a MTOGW of greater than 60,000 lbs., and operated pursuant to the Company’s Airline Operating Certificate or any additional Part 121 Airline Operating Certificate obtained by the Company, shall be operated by pilots on the Federal Express Master Seniority List in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.