In a sign that negotiations between Southwest Airlines mechanics and management are not going well, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) filed suit against Southwest Airlines late Friday in US District Court in Arizona. The lawsuit alleges that Southwest has committed multiple violations of the Railway Labour Act during contract negotiations, which have now dragged on for more than 4 years. AMFA accused Southwest of negotiating in bad faith, misrepresenting negotiations to AMFA members, and interfering with AMFA representatives' efforts to represent their AMFA members in contract negotiations. Southwest Airlines quickly responded to the lawsuit: "The allegations contained in AMFA's lawsuit are without merit." <br/>
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The unions in the [Nigerian] aviation sector have directed the commencement of a joint strike at Arik Air, with effect from Dec 20, over the airline’s failure to pay 7 months’ salary arrears and other anti-labour practices. The unions said the strike would continue indefinitely, until their demands are met by the management of Arik Air. Their demands include: “That the management of Arik Air allows total unionisation of its employees, [and] the management of Arik Air recalls all sacked employees who have been victimised for their roles in the effort to bring about unionisation in Arik Air." They also called for the immediate review of all employee remunerations which had remained the same since the inception of Arik Air, over 10 years ago. <br/>
It’s been a tough few days for air travellers. More than 5,000 flights have been canceled and nearly 20,000 delayed since Thursday as a series of weather systems snarled US flights from California to the Northeast. However, Frontier customers in Denver appear to have been hit especially hard. Stranded passengers of that airline took to social media in droves. Local media reports showed growing piles of luggage. “While weather conditions made operations for all airlines at Denver International more challenging last weekend, this most recent meltdown by Frontier Airlines is due to the same executive mismanagement and misplaced focus on cost-cutting that has placed Frontier near the very bottom of the industry in operational performance and customer satisfaction,” the Frontier unit of the Air Line Pilots Association said. <br/>
Iran Air has finalised its aircraft order agreement with Airbus, but has cut 12 A380s from the order for more than 100 aircraft, the airline’s CE said. Airbus announced Jan 28, 2016, that it had signed agreements with Iran Air covering the purchase of 21 A320ceo family aircraft, 24 A320neo family aircraft, 27 A330ceos, 18 A330-900neos, 16 A350-1000s and 12 A380s. Iran Air CE Farhad Parvaresh said that the A380s have been “removed from the contract.” Providing an indication of the discount Iran Air will be receiving, Parvaresh said “the real value of the deal will not exceed US$10b.” When announced in January, the order was valued at around $25b at list prices, though that included the A380s, which are valued at more than $400m each. Parvaresh said 7 or 8 Airbus aircraft will be delivered to Iran Air in 2017. <br/>
Members of the Professional Pilots’ Union (PPU) have balloted in favour of a work-to-rule policy at Virgin Atlantic Airways, as the group seeks to be the only pilot body represented at the airline. The PPU launched in Jan 2013, after 70% of Virgin Atlantic pilots backed the creation of a new union following a pay dispute in 2011. The PPU said it represents around 70% of pilots at Virgin Atlantic, although other sources indicate that the number could be closer to 50-60%. The group has been seeking sole representation at Virgin Atlantic for almost 2 years, but the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) is currently the only recognised pilots’ union at the airline. “Virgin Atlantic has repeatedly confirmed that it will only work with one union; making BALPA's derecognition inherent in any recognition of the PPU,” The PPU said. <br/>