Dispatchers join up

The flight dispatchers at Allegiant Air have voted to join Teamsters Local 986, the Teamsters Airline Division has announced. The flight dispatchers at Allegiant, a subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company, are joining approximately 350 Allegiant pilots who voted to join the Teamsters back in August 2012.

In explaining the decision, dispatchers have said that they are looking for fair treatment, a strong voice relating to their work and the security of a Teamster contract.

 

No hassle endorsement

Airlines for America has firmly put its support behind the House of Representatives in its decision to pass the No-Hassle Flying Act (2012).

The act sets out to simplify and streamline the process of baggage security measures appertaining to international flights arriving in the US from Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean that already have US Customs and Border Protection pre-clearance facilities.

The bill duly went before the White House to seek Presidential endorsement, giving the TSA the right to decide whether supplementary baggage inspection is due on items that have already been screened at the start of their journey. Currently all baggage entering the US is subject to a second screening, regardless of its origin. Gaining approval, this new proposal was made law on December 13.

 

 

Topping up the pot

Once again we can report that airlines are doing rather well when it comes to the topic of ancillary revenue.

Data released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics has revealed that Delta Air Lines had the second-highest operational profit margin among US airlines in the third quarter of 2012; moreover, it also accrued most checked bag-fee revenue, at US$233.1m.

Interestingly, all the major carriers recorded an operating profit during the third quarter of 2012 and analysts point to bag fees, seat allocation charges and meals as prime contributors to the collective bottom line.

Top of the pile was Alaska Airlines, which pocketed more than US$44m from baggage fees. This performance outpaced that of Allegiant and Spirit, airlines that have been much in the news of late because of their controversial extra fees.

Whilst this has been encouraging for the carriers which continue to battle against a volatile fuel market, the story won’t end here. Southwest, for example, has stated that it is to further augment its ancillary fee structure as 2013 unfolds.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, over US$900m was collected in baggage fees by the industry in that third quarter, in addition to just over US$650m accrued from flight change fees. And all this doesn’t include other ancillary revenue which carriers are not obliged to report.

 

 

Fire detection a priority

The National Transportation Safety Board recently announced recommendations aimed at the reduction of harm caused by fires aboard cargo aircraft, a move that has been endorsed by a pilots’ union. The board urged the Federal Aviation Administration to require fire-suppression systems in all cargo compartments of aircraft and to improve fire detection within cargo containers and pallets. The recommendations follow three fire-related accidents worldwide during the last six years. One of these incidents involved a UPS freighter that crashed in the United Arab Emirates in 2010; on another occasion, a UPS aircraft caught fire in Philadelphia, back in 2006. A third example centered on an Asiana Cargo aircraft that was lost in the ocean off South Korea in 2011.

 

In brief

Signature Flight Support has announced that Airside FBO Operations, its second licensed location in Canada, has completed its transition to a full service fixed based operation as Signature Edmonton located at Edmonton International airport.