Continental Pilots OK New Labor Pact

By Ross Snel
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
3/30/2005 5:23 PM EST

Pilots at Continental Airlines have ratified a new contract designed to save the airline $213 million a year.

The fate of the pilots' concessions depend, however, on three other work groups -- flight attendants, mechanics and dispatchers -- also agreeing to cuts. Results from their votes are expected later Wednesday.

"This pilot group has a record of leadership at Continental and again has stepped up to help the company survive by accepting concessions of $213 million annually," said Capt. Jay Panarello, chairman of the Master Executive Committee of Continental's arm of the Air Line Pilots Association. "However, any concessions from this pilot group have always been based on the condition that all employee groups share in the cost cuts."

Continental is hoping to save a total of $500 million a year in labor costs. The airline has warned of a liquidity crisis if it couldn't meet that target and set Wednesday as the deadline for employee groups to agree to concessions. Continental has also warned that if any of the unions fail to ratify its concessions it would to go back to all employees and ask for even larger annual concessions totaling $800 million.

Continental shares finished Wednesday's session up 92 cents, or 8.4%, at $11.89.

 

What changes, if any, were made to your pay scale and retirement?

 

The APC site states a 8.9% cut in pay, any other details?

Speaking of TA's, I see that Hawaiian rejected theirs.

 

Besides the 8.9% cut, they did away with the international override, DH pays at only 50%, per diem lowered, A fund frozen, B fund implemented, options granted, OJI frozen, first class rest seat for IRO changed to 3 coach seats, 9 hour long call implemented for reserves, and much more... some okay, most bad, and some terrible.

Some of the work rule changes are ridiculous. I think most of our pilots were of the concensus that some short term releif was needed. But this includes no guaranteed upside, no snapbacks, and a general gutting of our contract. I have 19 years to go and I doubt I will ever see anything better than what we had in our last contract... and that one sucked.

Suffice it to say I voted NO.

 

It USED to be a pretty good career. Oh. . well. . at least you will have Social Security. . opps. . never mind You don’t mind “giving back” . . if there were automatic provisions that you didn’t have to negotiate getting back to parity when the numbers improve. If I had a kid thinking about airline flying, I would be hard pressed to enthusiastically support it.

 

I have two boys. Told them they can do whatever they want... as long as it doesn't involve aviation.

Maybe they should become something a little more respected than todays airline pilot... like a freaking defense attorney or something!

 

I say a little prayer of thanks every so often for having been blessed with “timing” -to have lived and worked during the “golden age” of airline flying. Unfortunately, the last several years of that career were like watching a loved one get old and decrepit. Sad
Or a judge ?