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MAY 3, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The FAA has introduced 169 new routes along the East Coast that are more direct and will save time for passengers and fuel for airlines while increasing safety. Tim Arel, the COO of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization, stated that “these improvements will help travelers get to their destinations more efficiently and reduce complexity in the national airspace system.”

Annually, these direct routes will save 40,000 miles and 6,000 minutes of travel time. They will also help prevent delays by giving the FAA more capacity to direct traffic based on the aircraft’s destination. In the case of weather events, controllers will have more flexibility and safety will be enhanced due to fewer converging points and simpler flows.

The new routes operate primarily above 18,000 feet along the East Coast and offshore over the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The FAA replaced the old routes built when aircraft relied on ground-based radar instead of GPS. The FAA worked with the industry for over seven years to develop these high-altitude highways in the sky.

The new policies could help ease what is shaping up to be a chaotic summer travel season for airlines. 

Pilots at American Airlines have voted in favor of authorizing a strike. While this is unlikely to result in an immediate walkout, it does increase pressure on the airline to reach a new contract with the Pilots’ Union.

The Allied Pilots Association announced that over 96% of its 15,000 members participated in the vote, and 99% of those who voted were in favor of authorizing the union to call for a strike.

“The summer travel season is almost here, and we’re all wondering whether this will be another summer of uncertainty for American Airlines,” said Capt. Ed Sicher, APA President. “Fortunately, there is an alternative. By embracing the win-win scheduling and work rule improvements APA has presented at the bargaining table, management can take steps to improve the airline’s operational reliability and efficiency.”

Capt. Sicher noted that APA has provided airline management with detailed data illustrating how the union’s proposals will drive improved reliability.

Strike authorization voting began on April 1 and ended at midnight Central on April 30. With more than 96 percent of the APA membership participating, more than 99 percent voted in favor of authorizing a strike.

“The APA membership has spoken. We will strike if necessary to secure the industry-leading contract that our pilots have earned and deserve – a contract that will position American Airlines for success,” Capt. Sicher said. “With more than 99 percent of participating pilots voting in favor of authorizing a strike, our pilots’ resolve is unmistakable. We will not be deterred from our goal of an industry-leading contract.”

In a demonstration of their resolve, APA members will be conducting informational picketing today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time at all 10 of the airline’s major hubs: Boston (BOS), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), and Washington, D.C. (DCA).

Airline unions are prohibited by federal law from striking without the approval of a U.S. Mediation Board. The Federal Agency has yet to indicate that such a move is being considered.

The American Pilots’ Union is seeking changes to their scheduling that will improve efficiency and prevent the widespread delays and cancellations that occurred last summer, similar to the new FAA proposals. 

There was some good news at United Airlines, however. Nearly 30,000 union members at the airline, including five separate workgroups, voted to ratify new agreements with the carrier. The contracts will provide industry-best compensation and new job protections and insource new work for union members at United. 

With the new agreements, United can now focus on negotiating an updated contract with the carrier’s 12,000 pilots, who have been in talks for the past four years. 

United stocks finished the day higher on Monday, the day of the Machinists Union contract Ratifications, out-performing an otherwise gloomy day of trading. Shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL, -1.87% rallied 1.39% to $44.41 in afternoon trading. United Airlines Holdings Inc. ended the day $10.63 under its 52-week high of $55.04, which the company reported on March 7th.

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Disruptive Passenger Causes United Flight to Return to Newark

April 26, 2023

A United flight bound for Israel was forced to turn around and return to Newark airport early Sunday morning due to a disruptive passenger. The flight, which had already been delayed by two hours, had only been in the air for three hours before the incident occurred.

According to Local News Outlets, the passenger sat in a seat reserved for flight attendants while waiting to use the bathroom. When asked to move by a crew member, the man refused and began arguing with flight attendants.

Upon arrival back in Newark, law enforcement escorted the man off the plane. United Airlines released a statement saying, “United Flight 90 traveling from Newark to Tel Aviv returned to Newark shortly after takeoff due to a disruptive passenger. Law enforcement met the aircraft and removed the passenger. A new flight was scheduled to depart Sunday evening.”

The flight, originally scheduled to depart at 10:55 p.m., left Newark at 12:48 a.m. and arrived at the airport at 6:28 a.m., according to FlightAware.com. Passengers were booked onto a new flight for late Sunday.

In response to the growing number of air rage incidents, unions, including the Machinists Union and other airline workers, have called on the government, airlines, and airports to take stronger measures to reduce the number of unruly passenger incidents. Some of their proposals include banning to-go alcohol sales at airports, sharing internal no-fly lists between airlines so that banned passengers cannot disrupt another flight, and increasing fines and other penalties for disruptive and abusive behavior. 

Additionally, U.S. Senate and House members have proposed a new no-fly list for unruly passengers that would allow the Transportation Security Administration to ban people convicted or fined for assaulting or interfering with airline crew members.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) have introduced new bipartisan legislation that could stiffen penalties against offenders convicted of assaulting flight crew aboard an aircraft and place them on a commercial no-fly list. 

 The proposed legislation, called the Protection from Abusive Passengers Act, is aimed at protecting travelers and frontline aircrew members from physical abuse that has become more frequent during flights. The lawmakers say the enhanced penalty will serve as a strong deterrent against combative passengers and is needed to improve the safety of frontline aviation crews, attendants, and passengers.

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