Slutt for Pam Am (Del III) snart

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Pan Am eyes late October shutdown
Mary Kirby, Washington DC (24Sep04, 18:13 GMT, 300 words)


Pan American Airways hopes to close down its operations and begin flying under the banner of its regional sister, Boston-Maine Airways.

A lawyer for Pan Am, John Nadolny, recently told a US district court that the struggling Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based carrier wants to cease operations by 31 October.

Pan Am was forced into court by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which filed a suit claiming Pan Am parent Guilford Transportation has been illegally shifting the carrier’s Boeing 727 flying to non-unionized Boston-Maine, in anticipation of the shutdown.

ALPA’s collective bargaining agreement with Pan Am management does not expire until 15 November 2005.

ALPA’s suit may succeed in thwarting Pan Am’s planned shutdown, at least in the near-term. Earlier this week, the union won a victory in the dispute when the US district court ordered Pan Am to restore the pay and working conditions of its mainline pilots and stop transferring aircraft or flying to Boston-Maine, while it reviews a US magistrate’s 17 September recommendation that Guilford be prevented from committing further acts in violation of US labor law.

“ALPA believes that the defendants have implemented this union-busting strategy to sidestep the provisions of the Pan Am-ALPA collective bargaining agreement and to unseat ALPA as the representative of Pan Am pilots,” says ALPA president Duane Woerth.

Guilford has until 4 October to file an objection to the magistrate’s report.

It has been no secret that Boston-Maine, a BAE Systems Jetstream 31 operator, has been pursuing plans to expand into Boeing 727s. The carrier holds DOT authority to operate up to three 727s; it currently operates just one. However, until recently, it was not apparent that Guilford intended to shut down Pan Am in favor of operating all services under the Boston-Maine banner.

Nadolny could not be immediately reached for comment.


Source: Air Transport Intelligence news