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United Airlines pilots want higher pay than their counterparts at Delta Air Lines and at least similar improvements in work-life balance in their new contract, the head of their union said. Garth Thompson, in an interview late on Wednesday, told Reuters that any proposal that falls short of those expectations will have no takers. Delta's landmark pilots contract, which offers $7b in higher pay and benefits, is putting pressure on rival carriers to hand out similar deals ahead of a busy summer travel season. "We expect our contract to raise the bar from Delta's contract," Thompson said. "We're not just looking for more money, we're looking for several areas of improvement that we've been waiting a long time to achieve." United's contract came up for renewal in 2019 and negotiations have been underway for five years. Last year, its pilots overwhelmingly voted against a tentative contract, which the union said fell short of what members were seeking. Since then, United pilots have been protesting for a better deal. On Friday, they plan to picket at 10 airports. Airlines tend to have pattern bargaining. When one deal gets done, unions at other carriers use that as a benchmark to negotiate their contracts. With pilots in short supply and air travel demand booming, pilots are enjoying enhanced bargaining power. Thompson said United's willingness to merely match Delta's pay will not be acceptable to many of its pilots as the market is "fairly competitive." He said pilots also want a contract that meets or exceeds the standards set by Delta's deal in improving work-life balance. "Quality of work-life provisions have been the focal point for our proposals," he said. "There are still significant disagreements at the table on those work provisions."<br/>

Panama’s Copa Airlines is eyeing slots at Bogota’s El Dorado International airport as Colombian competitor Avianca mulls stepping back from its planned acquisition of now-defunct discount carrier Viva Air. Speaking during an earnings call on 11 May, Copa CE Pedro Heilbron said his airline is looking to expand in Colombia through subsidiary discount airline Wingo. He also acknowledged that Colombia’s air travel market remains in a state of limbo. That is because two domestic airlines – Viva Air and Ultra Air – in recent weeks shuttered due to financial difficulty. Ultra halted flights in March amid reports of financial trouble, and Viva ceased operations on 27 February, citing delays in regulatory approval of a potential merger with market heavyweight Avianca. It is now unclear if Avianca intends to continue with its acquisition plan. Avianca had been trying to acquire Viva for the past year, but several decisions by Colombia’s Directorate of Air Transport and Aero-Commercial Affairs – known as Aerocivil – stymied the process. Aerocivil’s latest approval, on 25 April, reiterated a preliminary decision from March that set conditions Avianca has called “unfeasible”. One of those conditions is that Avianca give up some slots in Bogota – and Copa’s Heilbron now smells opportunity. “The Bogota slots are very important because it was very difficult for Wingo to publish an advance schedule and fly at the peak times when most passengers want to fly,” he says. “Up to now, the slots in Bogota have been dominated by a single carrier. Hopefully this is going to change and make Bogota, one of the few slot-restricted airports in Latin America, a bit more competitive.” “We see that as a positive development,” he adds. Avianca said on 10 May it will decide “by the end of the week” if it will continue pursuing its planned acquisition of Viva. CE Adrian Neuhauser said the company is “not pleased” with the conditions required by Aerocivil.<br/>

Air Canada pilots eyeing "historic" workplace gains said on Thursday that full bargaining with the carrier was likely to start this summer, before the end of their decade-long contract, according to a letter to union members. North American pilots are pressing for higher salaries and better scheduling after aviators made big gains in a recent deal with Delta that delivers a 34% pay increase over four years. "Pilots at Air Canada are working at a steep discount compared to our North American competitors," the letter from the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) seen by Reuters said. "Our membership will not accept concessions and expects the next agreement to be historic in terms of gains." ACPA said that its leaders must decide by May 29 whether to stay within the framework of a 10-year agreement reached in 2014, or use a type of escape clause to enter into full negotiations this year. The union said it would consider remaining in the framework if the Montreal carrier offered a "substantial proposal" that recognized the worth of Air Canada pilots. Air Canada, which reports quarterly earnings on Friday, said in a statement it continued to abide by the 10-year collective agreement in force with its pilots. "At this time, it is premature to discuss timing of talks," it added. The airline's estimated 4,500 pilots have received a 2% wage increase per year since 2014. The country's inflation rate was running at 4.3% in March, a 19-month low. ACPA, which plans to join the larger Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), has said Delta's latest hourly pay rates are up to 45% higher than the current rates at Air Canada.<br/>

Turkish Airlines will order a total of 600 new aircraft in June and they will be delivered within ten years, company chairman Ahmet Bolat said on Thursday. Such an order, if confirmed, would be the largest in the industry's history by a single airline, eclipsing a record order by Air India for 470 Airbus and Boeing planes in December, but his comments took some industry sources and analysts by surprise. Speaking weeks before Turkey is due to host airline leaders from the IATA, Bolat said the order would consist of 400 narrow-body aircraft and 200 wide-bodies, adding the fleet would increase to 810 aircraft by 2033. "During the IATA we are going to announce orders. With one of the big manufacturers, we are almost finishing our discussions. We are going to order (a total of) around 600 aircraft," Bolat told reporters at a press meeting for the launch of the company's renewed inflight dining concept. IATA's annual summit, grouping some 280 airlines, will be held in Istanbul on June 4-6.Bolat said THY was close to a deal with Boeing for part of the order but did not give further details. Boeing declined to comment. Turkish Airlines could hand an order for the rest of the new aircraft "to the other manufacturer" at the next European air show in June, Bolat added in an apparent reference to Airbus (AIR.PA), Boeing's European rival. Airbus declined to comment. The Paris Airshow takes place in the week of June 19.<br/>

Portuguese airline TAP more than halved Q1 net losses to 57.4m euros ($63.19m) as passenger numbers surpassed pre-pandemic levels, it said late on Wednesday. The state-owned carrier’s recovery in the quarter is likely to boost hopes for its planned privatisation as early as July. Reuters last month reported that Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG were laying the groundwork for potential bids. TAP Passenger numbers rose 67% year on year to 3.51m between January and March, “exceeding pre-crisis levels in the first quarter of 2019”, TAP reported. Total operating revenue in the three months increased by 70.4% from a year earlier to E835.9m while passenger revenue grew by 79% to E737.6m. The increased revenues were offset by higher labour and fuel costs. TAP said total operating costs rose 54% to E852.2m, with fuel expenses doubling to E277m and labour costs rising 53% to E123.8m. CE Luis Rodrigues said that TAP delivered “a strong operational and financial performance, despite the increase in costs and operational challenges”. The airline is under a Brussels-approved rescue plan worth E3.2b. The plan includes a downsizing of TAP’s fleet, cutting thousands of jobs and reducing wages for most workers. Its recurring earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 63% to E120m, while its EBITDA margin - a key measure of profitability - declined 0.7 percentage points to 14.4%, the company said.<br/>

The unexpected death of a co-pilot just before a planned flight isn’t a reason to exempt airlines from paying compensation to delayed passengers, the European Union’s top court said in a dispute involving Portuguese carrier TAP SA. “Such a death, whilst tragic, does not amount to an extraordinary circumstance,” warranting an exemption, the EU Court of Justice said in a binding ruling on Thursday. Instead, it is “like any unexpected illness which may affect a crew member whose presence is essential, inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the airline.” EU judges have been inundated with cases seeking clarity about when passengers can claim compensation since a landmark judgment in 2009 saying that delays must be at least three hours long to qualify for compensation claims. The court has since been asked about a multitude of situations and whether they’re extraordinary enough to exempt airlines from any liabilities. Bad weather, a plane striking a bird or even a passenger biting someone on the plane are extraordinary enough, while “wildcat strikes” by staff that cause long delays aren’t, the court has ruled over the past decade. In the latest dispute, several passengers sought compensation after their TAP flight from Stuttgart, Germany to Lisbon, Portugal was canceled. The carrier claimed “extraordinary circumstances” due to the sudden death of the co-pilot just two hours before the planned flight, a father in his early 40s, which “came as a severe shock to everyone and was completely unforeseeable,” court documents show. Given the flight was scheduled to depart from outside TAP’s usual base, there was no immediate replacement staff and everyone had to wait for a fresh crew to be flown in, meaning passengers left for their final destination more than 10 hours later than planned.<br/>