Continental Pilots Optimistic About Future with Star Alliance.HOUSTON -- Continental pilots applaud today's U.S. Department of Transportation announcement of final approval for Continental to join the existing antitrust immunized alliance with United and eight other Star alliance carriers. As Continental transitions from the SkyTeam to the Star alliance, this grant of immunity allows Continental to join and participate in the Star alliance as an equal partner. "We have supported the granting of antitrust immunity to help our airline remain competitive and are optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op about the opportunity that this presents. We look forward to capitalizing on the future benefits of Continental's participation in the Star alliance and its position as an immunized carrier. We believe this is a positive step for our carrier, our customers and our pilots. However, the pilots, as essential partners, must benefit from the potential that immunity offers," says Captain Jay Pierce, union leader of the Continental pilots. Continental pilots, along with pilots at United, are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA ALPA abbr. Air Line Pilots Association ). Capt. Pierce adds, "For the partnerships and joint ventures proposed under this plan to succeed, pilots at the affected carriers must play a key role. We will not support any plan that does not recognize our contribution or attempts to pit one carrier's pilots against another." Continental and United pilots have been coordinating efforts for nearly two years as the two carriers courted first a merger and now Continental's entry into the Star alliance as an immunized carrier. The support has also extended to cooperation during bargaining efforts, with both pilot groups currently in contract negotiations with their respective companies. Says Capt. Pierce, "We will continue to work with the United pilots' leadership as these partnerships are developed. It is in the best interest of both our pilot groups to ensure that adequate labor protections are included in these deals. United management's actions in forming an alter ego A doctrine used by the courts to ignore the corporate status of a group of stockholders, officers, and directors of a corporation in reference to their limited liability so that they may be held personally liable for their actions when they have acted fraudulently or unjustly or when airline (between Aer Lingus Aer Lingus is Ireland's national airline. Based in Dublin, it operates 41 Airbus aircraft serving Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East. The airline is 28% owned by the Irish government; it was floated on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges on 2 October 2006, and UAL UAL United Airlines (ICAO code) UAL Unified Accelerator Library (Brookhaven National Laboratory) UAL User Account Lockdown UAL User Access Layer UAL Universal Auxiliary Language UAL User Agent Layer ) have made us very aware of the lengths that they will go to, at the expense of labor, to line their own pockets." ALPA represents nearly 54,000 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Canada, including the approximately 5,000 pilots at Continental Airlines. There are currently 147 pilots on furlough fur·lough n. 1. a. A leave of absence or vacation, especially one granted to a member of the armed forces. b. A usually temporary layoff from work. c. from Continental. Visit the ALPA website at alpa.org. |
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