Startup Breeze Airways defends plans to hire college kids against discrimination claims

Breeze Airways fired back against unions and defended its controversial flight attendant hiring plans in the latest salvo of a war of words waged in the dockets between the startup airline and organized labor. In a filing this week, Breeze asked the DOT to dismiss unions’ claims that its plans to hire college students violate federal law. Breeze defended its plan to offer tuition reimbursement to Utah Valley University students who work as flight attendants for the airline as just one pathway to a career at the company. The company won’t use students alone to fill its flight attendant ranks and also will hire full-time and part-time professional flight attendants, it said in its answer to the unions’ complaint. But the plan to hire students will help the startup compete in the labor market against larger carriers for flight attendants. “As a startup airline that will compete with the largest legacy airlines across the country, Breeze needed a portion of its flight attendants to be part of a flexible workforce that quickly could be deployed to new start-up cities as it grew its operation,” the airline said. “Breeze argues that federal regulators have no business asking about its plans to follow labor and civil rights law,” AFA President Sara Nelson said. “We fundamentally disagree.” Story has more.<br/>