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1. Philippine Airlines Expects Loss Due to Typhoon
MANILA–A surprise work stoppage at the height of a typhoon Tuesday continued to hobble the operations of Philippine Airlines through Wednesday, and officials of the country's largest airline by fleet expect it may possibly result in a net loss for the carrier in its current fiscal year.
They also don't expect a return to a normal schedule in the coming days.
PAL, as Asia's oldest commercial airline is better known, cancelled 64 domestic and 40 international flights, or 74% of all scheduled Wednesday flights after cancelling 102 international and 70 domestic flights on Tuesday, after workers to be laid-off because of the carrier's decision to outsource airport services, catering and call-center operations walked off their jobs. The outsourcing will only begin on Saturday, Oct. 1.
"I am not optimistic that we'll be back to normal in a week's time," PAL president Jaime Bautista told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview. He said service providers hired by PAL to takeover non-core services will take some time to fill manpower requirements. They had given former PAL employees until Friday to decide whether to join their staff.
Mr. Bautista said that just 30% of the 2,400 affected PAL staff have so far agreed to transfer.
Asked if he still expects PAL to post a profit in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2012 because of the strike, Mr. Bautista said: "Most likely not."
But Mr. Bautista said the impact of the stoppage will be more pronounced on revenue rather than profit because of the substantial number of flights that have been and will be cancelled.
PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna told Dow Jones that some 14,000 domestic and international travelers were affected by the flight cancellations on Tuesday and several thousands more also failed to fly on Wednesday.
"We're just mounting 25%-30% of our flights per day," she said.
PAL decided to outsource non-core services last year, but it was delayed when workers appealed to then newly-elected President Benigno Aquino. The court recently allowed PAL to proceeded with the outsourcing, which the airline expects to result in savings of $10 million to $15 million a year. The carrier expect the spinoff to cost it 2.5 billion pesos in payments to the laid-off workers.
The airline, wrestling with high fuel costs and stiff competition, posted a net loss $10.6 million its first quarter ended June 20. Prior to the strike, PAL projected a slight profit, albeit lower than the $72.5 million it recorded in the previous year.
PAL, a unit of PAL Holdings Inc., the listed investment holding company of billionaire Lucio Tan, believes that its purchase of newer and more fuel-efficient Airbus and Boeing aircraft in the coming years, along with outsourcing non-core services, will bolster profit.
2. United Continental Holdings wins round with pilots over training
A potential stumbling block to fully integrating United and Continental airlines was removed Thursday when a federal judge ruled in favor of the merged airline in a dispute with pilots.
United Continental Holdings Inc. can continue with plans to integrate United and Continental cockpit procedures on Friday as planned, ruled U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. in New York. He denied a request for a restraining order by United pilots, who claimed their training on new procedures was inadequate and posed a potential safety problem.
United Continental Holdings was pleased with the decision, saying safety is its highest priority for employees and customers.
"We'll continue to proceed with our training procedures, which are widely used within the industry … and are reviewed and approved by the (Federal Aviation Administration)," the Chicago-based airline said in a statement.
The Air Line Pilots Association, the labor union that filed the suit Monday, said it was disappointed in the ruling.
"Safety has always and will continue to be first and foremost for each United pilot every time we enter the cockpit, and we continue to contend that this training does not meet our safety standards and is unrealistic," the union said in a statement.
In the complaint, United pilots said they are being rushed too quickly through flight retraining as they try to learn cockpit procedures mostly patterned after Continental Airlines' way of doing things. To operate in the same cockpit, United and Continental pilots must have a single set of operating procedures.
United pilots said they don't feel comfortable with the new flying rules, alleging that their lack of familiarity creates a safety risk. The union said the company's training via computer was inferior to classroom training, which might offer cockpit mock-ups and flight simulators.
The judge said in his ruling that the pilots union failed to show it would suffer irreparable harm if he didn't issue the restraining order. Allegations that the training increased safety risk were too "remote and speculative," Johnson ruled.
A spokeswoman for United Continental Holdings contended the lawsuit wasn't about safety but instead was a "shameful" attempt to gain advantage in union contract negotiations. Pilots have been unhappy with the pace of those talks.
The lawsuit is unrelated to union contract talks with United Continental Holdings, Capt. Wendy Morse, chairwoman of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, has said.
Though United and Continental airlines officially merged about a year ago, they are mostly operating as separate airlines until the company receives a single operating certificate from the FAA. United officials have said they expect to receive that certificate this year. Integrating cockpit training is a requirement for receiving the certificate.
Following the court ruling, the pilots union again called on United Continental Holdings to delay integration of cockpit procedures and establish "realistic, workable training for the United pilots."
Aviation NEWS By
Neha Jain
Aviation NEWS Reporter
1. Philippine Airlines Expects Loss Due to Typhoon
MANILA–A surprise work stoppage at the height of a typhoon Tuesday continued to hobble the operations of Philippine Airlines through Wednesday, and officials of the country's largest airline by fleet expect it may possibly result in a net loss for the carrier in its current fiscal year.
They also don't expect a return to a normal schedule in the coming days.
PAL, as Asia's oldest commercial airline is better known, cancelled 64 domestic and 40 international flights, or 74% of all scheduled Wednesday flights after cancelling 102 international and 70 domestic flights on Tuesday, after workers to be laid-off because of the carrier's decision to outsource airport services, catering and call-center operations walked off their jobs. The outsourcing will only begin on Saturday, Oct. 1.
"I am not optimistic that we'll be back to normal in a week's time," PAL president Jaime Bautista told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview. He said service providers hired by PAL to takeover non-core services will take some time to fill manpower requirements. They had given former PAL employees until Friday to decide whether to join their staff.
Mr. Bautista said that just 30% of the 2,400 affected PAL staff have so far agreed to transfer.
Asked if he still expects PAL to post a profit in the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2012 because of the strike, Mr. Bautista said: "Most likely not."
But Mr. Bautista said the impact of the stoppage will be more pronounced on revenue rather than profit because of the substantial number of flights that have been and will be cancelled.
PAL spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna told Dow Jones that some 14,000 domestic and international travelers were affected by the flight cancellations on Tuesday and several thousands more also failed to fly on Wednesday.
"We're just mounting 25%-30% of our flights per day," she said.
PAL decided to outsource non-core services last year, but it was delayed when workers appealed to then newly-elected President Benigno Aquino. The court recently allowed PAL to proceeded with the outsourcing, which the airline expects to result in savings of $10 million to $15 million a year. The carrier expect the spinoff to cost it 2.5 billion pesos in payments to the laid-off workers.
The airline, wrestling with high fuel costs and stiff competition, posted a net loss $10.6 million its first quarter ended June 20. Prior to the strike, PAL projected a slight profit, albeit lower than the $72.5 million it recorded in the previous year.
PAL, a unit of PAL Holdings Inc., the listed investment holding company of billionaire Lucio Tan, believes that its purchase of newer and more fuel-efficient Airbus and Boeing aircraft in the coming years, along with outsourcing non-core services, will bolster profit.
2. United Continental Holdings wins round with pilots over training
A potential stumbling block to fully integrating United and Continental airlines was removed Thursday when a federal judge ruled in favor of the merged airline in a dispute with pilots.
United Continental Holdings Inc. can continue with plans to integrate United and Continental cockpit procedures on Friday as planned, ruled U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. in New York. He denied a request for a restraining order by United pilots, who claimed their training on new procedures was inadequate and posed a potential safety problem.
United Continental Holdings was pleased with the decision, saying safety is its highest priority for employees and customers.
"We'll continue to proceed with our training procedures, which are widely used within the industry … and are reviewed and approved by the (Federal Aviation Administration)," the Chicago-based airline said in a statement.
The Air Line Pilots Association, the labor union that filed the suit Monday, said it was disappointed in the ruling.
"Safety has always and will continue to be first and foremost for each United pilot every time we enter the cockpit, and we continue to contend that this training does not meet our safety standards and is unrealistic," the union said in a statement.
In the complaint, United pilots said they are being rushed too quickly through flight retraining as they try to learn cockpit procedures mostly patterned after Continental Airlines' way of doing things. To operate in the same cockpit, United and Continental pilots must have a single set of operating procedures.
United pilots said they don't feel comfortable with the new flying rules, alleging that their lack of familiarity creates a safety risk. The union said the company's training via computer was inferior to classroom training, which might offer cockpit mock-ups and flight simulators.
The judge said in his ruling that the pilots union failed to show it would suffer irreparable harm if he didn't issue the restraining order. Allegations that the training increased safety risk were too "remote and speculative," Johnson ruled.
A spokeswoman for United Continental Holdings contended the lawsuit wasn't about safety but instead was a "shameful" attempt to gain advantage in union contract negotiations. Pilots have been unhappy with the pace of those talks.
The lawsuit is unrelated to union contract talks with United Continental Holdings, Capt. Wendy Morse, chairwoman of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, has said.
Though United and Continental airlines officially merged about a year ago, they are mostly operating as separate airlines until the company receives a single operating certificate from the FAA. United officials have said they expect to receive that certificate this year. Integrating cockpit training is a requirement for receiving the certificate.
Following the court ruling, the pilots union again called on United Continental Holdings to delay integration of cockpit procedures and establish "realistic, workable training for the United pilots."
PHILIPPINES AVIATION NEWS
Aviation NEWS By
Neha Jain
Aviation NEWS Reporter
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