HeavyDriver

Any word how the return to negotiations with the company and mediator went? Was it a bust like most of us suspected? Looks like most of use will get a Kalitta contract along with a new company ID.

Nohope

Kalitta contract or better. I'm sure it will not be at Omni. The end is near!

aviatorhi

I'm just confused by all this doom and gloom "end is near" type rhetoric... I'm not seeing this place shutting down anytime soon considering the rock bottom prices that Omni is paying while making excellent returns.

whereRwe

If we keep hemorrhaging pilots then we can't stay open because we won't have enough crews.

aviatorhi

I think the vast majority of line pilots underestimate the means and capabilities by which a company can stay in business, particularly when it has as many capital assets as OAI & the parent.

mumu

To be fair, the vast majority of line pilots overestimate the profitability of OAI in the absence of concrete information. Capital asset values can are only assumed. If I were to guess, intangibles and goodwill (contracts, market share and customer relationships) are OAI's largest asset, not airframes. The ownership very well may have decided a long time ago that keeping OAI a going concern would be predicated on achieving a profit margin that would otherwise be eroded with a huge increase in labor costs, e.g., they would just as soon fold the company and seek other revenue streams instead of capitulating to bargaining group demands.

On the plus side, OAI has pricing power in its niche market. The real question is how much of a hit to the bottom line are the stakeholders willing to endure if the pilot group gets what it wants, and can it -- or will it -- pass along higher costs to its customers.

aviatorhi

I agree with that entirely, and part of Omni's ability to continue operating, should labor prove to be insufficient, will be to utilize those customer relationships for all they are worth. I also agree that the profitability of the company tends to be overstated, at the same time it is a going concern which has cornered it's market in a very effective manner. The company seems to also recognize that AMC flights alone are not going to ensure it's survival in the long term. Their actions (aircraft upgrades, marketing, etc.) seem to dictate that they intend to maintain the airline for the foreseeable future (of course this is aviation and I could be dead wrong). To be clear, I wasn't implying that Omni can throw money at the problems (other than labor) to keep going, simply that a company which has as much access to capital as OAI is not something that evaporates in a night.

Rolloutflare

Latest Union email.

Omni Crew Members,

Your Omni Negotiating Committee met in Tulsa this week for the purpose of continuing negotiations. We were supported by our attorneys, a Teamsters economist and Local 1224 President Daniel Wells.

This marked our first meeting with the company since December 2016, and the first conducted under the supervision of a federal mediator.

No progress was made.

Our next mediation session is tentatively scheduled for June 2017. During the hiatus, the company will be speaking with its ownership to determine whether it can make any movement.

Fly safe and stay united.

Fraternally,

Omni Negotiating Committee
APA Teamsters Local 1224

AvgJoe99

Why would they have come to the meeting without already knowing that?

whereRwe

Im sure the company told everyone they are willing to work on a new contract. Its not expensive for them to drive somewhere in Tulsa, while our guys have to fly in from all over. Not the companies money so why should they start to care if they jerk people around, they have been doing it for years and getting away with it.