Originally Posted by
FEtoFO
Also take a listen to the last investor call (last Friday), because it sounds like BB would rather shrink the airline then pay his pilots.
Just happened to be reading that, here is some highlights.
- Additionally we continue to have 16 idled surplus E145 aircraft on which we are still paying ownership costs.
- we have been maintaining a much higher ratio of Captain positions to first officers.
- As most of you already know, last month the IBT filed a lawsuit against the company alleging that we unilaterally increased compensation to our pilots and implemented new higher signing bonuses for pilots in violation of the Railway Labor Act. The suit seeks to eliminate our past practice with respect to these incentive pay programs. We believe the suit is without merit and last Thursday we filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the case from Federal Court. That motion has yet to be decided.
- There is no way to sugar coat this. The financial results for this quarter are unacceptable. Our inability to reliably fly our schedules for our mainline partners must change quickly. Lower block hour production and reduced operational reliability translates into significantly reduced operating revenues and unreimbursed aircraft costs from our partners. As our operational performance and financial results for the first half of 2015 make clear, we cannot continue down the current path.
- There is a national pilot shortage. It was created by Congress and Congress must address it and soon.
- Certainly our ongoing labor dispute with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is uniquely amplifying our pilot staffing challenges relative to our peers. Recruiting new first officers has been challenging. However, since the IBT filed their challenge to our well-established past practice of paying new higher pilot signing bonuses, our recruiting challenges have been magnified further. Because of the continued uncertainty around our current financial situation and actions taken by the IBT leadership team, we are experiencing escalating first officer attrition. At the risk of sounding like a broken record this simply isn't sustainable. So we need to move past our bargaining differences with the IBT and draw the process to a close.
- Despite daily negotiations for several months and recent mediated sessions under the direct supervision of the National Mediation Board, we have made no meaningful progress in reaching resolution with the Local 357 negotiating committee. In early June and again in July, the company presented a comprehensive proposal to the IBT that would increase first year first officer rates by 74% and make significant investments in our pilots by improving pay rates, adding leg by leg cancellation pay protection, and enhancing other work rules. When we left our last mediated session at the NMB, the IBT proposal to company still included a $348 million ratification bonus and had a three year accumulated cost of over $1 billion. Any reasonable person knows these types of demands are outrageous and irrational. Unfortunately this has extended the current negotiating process at the peril of all our associates, our codeshare partners, and our other key stakeholders. The next step in this process is a scheduled mediation at NMB on August 20.