United: cutbacks continue

United Airlines is to effect 66 redundancies at Jacksonville International as of May. This comes following an announcement in January that it was considering cutting up to 2,000 jobs at 28 airports in total, with the intention of outsourcing the positions. The decision will mostly affect baggage handlers or gate and customer service agents.

Additionally United has announced 69 redundancies at Palm Beach International and a further 115 at Miami International. United says that staff were told of the decision earlier in the year, and the hope is that they will have the opportunity to transfer to other stations in due course.

Servisair accused of violating drug testing policy

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed fining Servisair (Las Vegas) US$105,500 for alleged violations of drug and alcohol testing regulations. The FAA believes that the handler failed to administer drug and alcohol tests to the minimum required number of employees during 2013. It is also believed that, following the completion of their training, five employees were excluded from the company’s random testing pool for a length of time. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that Servisair failed to distribute its drug use policy, and to display and distribute educational material, along with an employee assistance helpline, after moving to a new terminal.

FAA plans alterations to drone restrictions

The US Federal Aviation Administration plans to facilitate the commercial use of drone aircraft for specific business operations. Generally, drones of this nature are banned in the States, except in a small number of cases where the FAA has granted an exemption. More than 750 requests for exemptions to the ban have been received but up till now only 48 have been awarded.

However, the FAA now intends to simplify the process by removing the need for companies with exemptions to acquire new authorisation for each new use of a drone. The policy change could benefit a host of companies that are pushing for a removal of bans on commercial uses of automated aircraft, and boost business operations for manufacturers and service providers built around drone technology. Also in line to benefit are companies that already have exemptions from the commercial drone ban, such as Chevron, Berkshire Hathaway’s BNSF Railway Company, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance and a number of film and media companies. All stand to gain more flexibility in the use of pilotless aircraft for rail and pipeline inspections, crop surveys and aerial photography for commercials or movies.

Currently awaiting exemptions are Amazon and Yamaha Motor Company.

Airline employee numbers increase from 2013 to 2014

According to the US Bureau of Transportation’s Statistics, US scheduled passenger airlines employed 1.4% more workers in December 2014 than in December 2013. The number of full-time employees, at 386,219, was precisely 5,410 more than the previous December, and December also marked the thirteenth consecutive month that full-time equivalent (FTE) employment for US scheduled passenger airlines was higher than the same month of the previous year.

Included in the statistics are network airlines, low cost, regional and other carriers. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and US Airways saw an increase in FTEs from December 2013 while United Airlines saw a reduction.

The six low cost carriers, namely Allegiant Airlines, Spirit, JetBlue, Frontier, Southwest and Virgin America, all reported increases, employing 4.4% more FTEs in December 2014 than in December 2013.

The 13 regional carriers reported 0.2% fewer FTEs in December 2014 than in December 2013. Seven regional airlines – PSA Airlines, Shuttle America, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airlines, Compass Airlines, Horizon Air and GoJet Airlines – reported increased employment levels.

WestJet Cargo voted number one in Canada

WestJet Cargo was named Best Air Cargo Provider 2014 at the first annual Cargo Logistics Canada Awards of Excellence, which was hosted in Vancouver. Canadian supply chain companies voted online to select the top providers in 11 different categories.

Stephen Platt, WestJet’s Director, Cargo Operations and Sales, said of the victory: “We are very proud to win this prestigious award. It is particularly satisfying that the award is voted on by members of the logistics community in which we work. To receive this type of recognition from our partners and peers tells us we’re providing our guests with a great experience for their cargo needs.”

In the last two years, WestJet Cargo has expanded its network by over 70% and now services more than 40 cities in Canada, the US, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. In addition, the company has cargo interline relationships with more than 15 carriers worldwide, carrying everything from family pets to fresh produce and seafood to every continent in the world.

New lounge at San Diego International airport

San Diego International airport has opened Airspace Lounge, purported to be the airport’s first and only common-use lounge.

On February 25, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the lounge in Terminal 2 East, which has panoramic views of the airfield, comfortable seating areas, a full food and bar menu and even showering facilities.

According to officials, Airspace Lounge is operated by Swissport and is open to all airport passengers… for a fee. Unless, of course, you are the proud owner of an American Express Platinum or Centurion card, in which case you are entitled to complimentary access to the lounge.

Atlanta airport tightens employee security

Following the recent gun-smuggling scandal at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International by a Delta Air Lines handler, the airport has implemented a screening procedure, which will check employee bags before permitting access to secure areas or closing access doors to the airfield.

Prior to the newly-introduced measures, the airport’s 70 access points for employees, including baggage handlers and ramp workers, only required them to swipe their badges to gain entry and workers were not subject to bag or body checks when going to work. Now, however, private security guards are checking their bags and personal belongings before allowing them to enter the main terminal through a security door.

Delta employees have confirmed that to access the ramp, they now have to enter an security code to open one door and then swipe their badges to open a second.

Airport spokesman, Reese McCranie, said that the airport had plans to reduce the number of employee access points from about 70 to 10. Additionally, secure area access has been revoked for about 4,400 employees working for various companies at the airport, who will now have to go through Transportation Security Administration screening to access these areas.