US Airways recalling furloughees, possibly hiring new crew for 2011

by B. N. Sullivan

US Airways has announced plans to add 500 crew members to its active work force in 2011.  The carrier will expand its flight attendant work group by 420, and will add 80 pilots to its ranks.

The expansion will begin with the recall of furloughees.  If the positions are not filled by those currently on furlough, US Airways plans to recruit new crew members.

Following the recall, US Airways expects to have no more flight attendants on furlough.  Up to 100 pilots may remain on furlough.

In a statement to the press, US Airways President Scott Kirby said, "This is great news for our workforce and the communities we serve.  We look forward to welcoming our colleagues back to US Airways, and bringing new crew members onto the team."

US Airways plans to have both the new hires and those who are recalled flying the line by July of 2011.

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American Airlines to recall 250 furloughed pilots and 545 flight attendants

by B. N. Sullivan

American Airlines (AA) is recalling 250 furloughed pilots and 545 flight attendants, according to Gerard Arpey, CEO of AMR Corporation, the parent of AA.  During a press conference in London, Mr. Arpey announced the recalls in conjunction with the initiation of new international routes arising from AA's joint business agreement with Iberia and British Airways .

Recalls will take place incrementally  Pilot recalls will begin in November 2010 when 25 pilots will be brought back to work; then, beginning in December, another 30 pilots will be recalled each month.  American currently has nearly 2,000 pilots on furlough.

Flight attendants are expected to be recalled in two groups.  The first 225 will be asked to return to to AA later this month, and the remaining 320 should receive recall notices before the end of this year.  The majority of flight attendants set to be recalled are former TWA crew, many of whom were laid off nearly a decade ago.

Continental Airlines recalls furloughed pilots

by B. N. Sullivan

Continental Airlines is recalling 132 pilots who were furloughed in September of 2008.  The recalled pilots will begin to return for training before the end of 2010. 

In a statement to the press, Capt. Jay Pierce, chairman of the Continental Airlines unit of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said, “With the increases in flying due to increased passenger traffic and anticipated aircraft deliveries, combined with normal pilot attrition rates, we have been saying for months that we needed our pilots back in order to adequately maintain the level of service that Continental is known for."

Fifteen furloughed pilots returned to work at Continental earlier this year. The newly announced recall will bring back the remainder of the 148 pilots who were furloughed in 2008.

Two U.S. airlines recalling furloughed pilots

This week, two U.S. carriers -- American Airlines and AirTran Airways -- announced the recall of furloughed pilots.

A spokesperson for American Airlines said additional pilots were needed to fly new planes coming into the fleet, and to replace pilots who retired, including some who opted recently for an early-out.

According to the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing pilots at American Airlines:

This week, AMR management announced the creation of a second pilot recall class for the month of March. An initial recall group of 39 pilots will begin Feb. 11 and will now be followed by a group of 10 pilots on March 4 and another group of seven pilots on March 18. An additional 15 pilots have been recalled, but will be placed on military leave of absence.

AirTran Airways, which furloughed 169 pilots this past summer, already has recalled 120 of those, and is sending out letters to recall the remaining 49 furloughees. An article about the AirTran pilot recall in the Atlanta Business Chronicle quoted an airline spokesman who said the pilots are needed for summer and to replace retiring pilots.

Contract negotiations between the AirTran and its pilots' union are also due to resume shortly. The talks had been suspended for several months. The pilots are seeking improvements to job security, work rules, health insurance, benefits and compensation, according to Capt. Mike Best, president of the National Pilots Association, which represents AirTran pilots.

India's Jet Airways sacks, then reinstates, hundreds of flight attendants

Put this one in the "truth is stranger than fiction" file.

First, India's Jet Airways decided to lay off hundreds of flight attendants, beginning this week, in order to cut costs. The Times of India reported that as many as 850 Jet Airways cabin crew would receive termination letters this week in what would be the largest layoff in the history of Indian aviation. Most of those who were to be let go have been working for the airline for less than a year and a half. An article on another news website, IndianExpress.com, said that the number of layoffs would be 600.

In addition, it was rumored that the round of terminations might  not be the end of the crew cutbacks at Jet Airways. The Times of India quoted an unnamed airline official who said, "The rumour doing the rounds here is that more cabin crew lay-offs are on their way. Even the people who de-rostered the crew today fear that they may soon be at the receiving end themselves."

The layoffs were announced with little advance warning to the flight attendants. From The Times of India:

The retrenched crew are said to have taken it very hard, particularly since they were given a verbal job assurance as recently as two months ago by the top management. Chief commercial officer Sudhir Raghavan in one of his weekly Friday interactions with the cabin crew had said that their jobs were insulated. "Irrespective of whatever cost cuts we make, Mr Goyal has told me not to touch the cabin crew, he had said," a crew member recalled Raghavan saying. "So no one pressed the panic button when Goyal and Mallya made the tie-up announcement," he adds.

"It's not just the junior staff, even experienced personnel like the crew and ground staff at Jet's San Francisco base will be laid off once the airline calls off its flights in January," the source said.

Jet Airways announced in a press release earlier this month that the Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco route will be discontinued effective January 13, 2009.

But now, in what has been described as a stunning reversal, Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal has announced the reinstatement of all employees sacked earlier this week, and has asked them to return to work tomorrow. According to The Times of India, Goyal claimed the airline's management had taken the decision to lay off hundreds of employees on the basis of economic conditions in the industry. He claimed he didn’t even know the number of employees who had been sacked.

From an article in The Times of India:

Apologizing for "the agony" that the staffers must have undergone, [Goyal] said, "The management might not like my decision but sometimes there are disagreements within the family and as the head of the family, I am taking this decision."

I'm glad to learn that the cabin crew and other employees who were dismissed without warning may not have lost their jobs after all, but something tells me that this drama may have more chapters to follow.


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US Airways recalling furloughees and hiring new pilots

US Airways announced yesterday that it intends to hire 350 new pilots, with training dates to begin in November of this year. In addition, 140 furloughed pilots who are now flying with US Airways Express carriers will be moved back to mainline flying.

A US Airways press release says that "new hire pilots will move onto the airline's growing Embraer 190 fleet, which in turn will drive current pilots to other aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family." Positions will be filled over the next 12 to 16 months.

For more information and an on-line application, visit the US Airways Employment Opportunities web page.

American Airlines recalls 460 furloughed TWA flight attendants

American Airlines (AA) is sending recall notices to 460 former TWA flight attendants who had been furloughed soon after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The new recalls are in addition to the 200 flight attendants recalled earlier this year. This will be the fifth flight attendant recall by AA since 2003.

A statement about the latest recall on the American Airlines website says that flight attendants who accept and meet all requirements will be eligible to return to service in either November or December 2007.

American Airlines recalling 200 flight attendants

American Airlines announced today that the company is sending recall notices to 200 furloughed flight attendants. A news release issued by the airline says that "AA flight attendants, including former TWA flight attendants will be included in this recall."

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union representing American Airlines cabin crew, confirms that the recall notices are going to the 200 most senior furloughees.

An article about the recall in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says:

American still has about 2,100 attendants on furlough, many of them former TWA employees. Under their current contract with American, furloughed attendants lose their right to be recalled after five years. That's led many TWA attendants who were laid off in 2001 and subsequent years to attempt to change the rule so they can eventually return to work.

Last year, TWA attendants protested at the headquarters of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, claiming that the union wasn't representing their interests. But some have also supported the union in its recent marches and rallies against executive pay at the airline.

Recalled flight attendants can choose to work at American's crew bases in Boston, New York or Washington, D.C

AA begins to recall furloughed pilots

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that American Airlines has recalled 11 furloughed pilots, the first to be invited back since layoffs began more than five years ago.

According to the article:

American spokeswoman Sue Gordon said the first group began training last week. Five were from the last group of pilots furloughed in April 2005, and six are more senior pilots who had volunteered to be furloughed.

To get the initial 11 pilots, American extended recall offers to about 80 furloughed pilots, Ms. Gordon said, with the others declining recall or deferring a decision.

Fort Worth-based American, the world's largest carrier, has told its pilots that it expects to recall about 10 pilots a month.

Ms. Gordon said the actual rate will depend on how many pilots leave.

Since October 2001, American Airlines furloughed more than 2,800 pilots.