http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/0...ways-clea.html
US Airways clears merger milestone, but labor issues remain
Todayamwest US Airways received a single operating certificate yesterday from the Federal Aviation Administration, a key milestone for the company following the US Airways-America West merger two years ago. The move effectively makes the carrier a "single entity" to the FAA, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports.
The Arizona Republic writes that "under the single certificate, US Airways is now free to have dispatchers in Pittsburgh handle old America West flights out of Phoenix, and dispatchers in Phoenix can run the former US Airways' East Coast flights, said David Seymour, the airline's vice president of operations control and planning. Mechanics from the old America West and former US Airways can also now work on each others' planes."
But the airline still cannot pull together its cabin crews, which are still working under two different labor contracts. The Republic says putting worker groups from each side of the merged carrier under single labor pacts remains "the thorny issue that stands in the way of the airline truly combining the operations of America West and US Airways." The biggest challenge is coming from pilots, where the two different groups are far apart on agreeing to terms to work under a single contract. Relations there are so strained that a group of pilots from the "old" US Airways say they're "close to forcing a vote to choose a new union and stall contract negotiations with the carrier indefinitely," The Associated Press reports. Stay tuned …
Photo credit: A US Airways jet painted in a "retro" America West theme. Courtesy of US Airways.