Pilot union signs news protocol

On March 19, the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the representative body at EU level of 38,000 pilots from the national pilot associations across Europe, released a statement announcing a newly signed protocol to create the Ryanair Transitional Pilot Group (RTPG).

This new protocol aims to bring together the Ryanair company councils of ECA’s pilot-union members and give the pilots at Irish LCC Ryanair a voice.

“With this new protocol, pilot associations and their Ryanair Company Councils join forces to achieve their aims, such as: direct permanent employment contracts subject to local law, equal and transparent career opportunities across the network, and effective collective representation for all Ryanair pilots regardless of country or base.

The protocol also establishes the RTPG as being the primary Ryanair pilot body for all transnational matters,” an ECA spokesperson said.

Ryanair was previously resisting the ECA’s request on union recognition, but due to the threat of strikes they agreed to union talks and have signed several agreements since September 2017.

“The setting up of this transnational pilot group is a clear signal to Ryanair management to engage in constructive and meaningful social dialogue both at the national and transnational levels,” said the ECA spokesperson.

For the full story see HERE.

United Airlines suspends pet travel service

Many international and domestic carriers are responding to increased customer demand for pet transport, particularly those with animals travelling on the same aircraft as their owners. ATW Online reports that after a series of highly-publicised deaths and incidents with family dogs United has suspended its popular PetSafe service.

The airline announced on March 20, that it would be conducting a review of its pet travelling service. “We are taking this voluntary action … [to] make improvements that will ensure the best possible experience for our customers and their pets,” United said.

According to the US Department of Transport, United had 18 deaths and 13 injuries of animals transported in 2017.

“To prevent this from happening again, by April we will issue bright coloured bag tags to customers travelling with in-cabin pets. This visual tag will further help our flight attendants identify pets in-cabin.”

United hopes to have completed their PetSafe service review by May 1.

For the full story see HERE.

Attempted US Aviation breach

Bloomberg has reported that Russian hackers attempted to gain access into the United States civilian aviation industry in 2017.

The attempted hacking is a part of a wider assault to penetrate sensitive government agencies, it was reported. Luckily, the attempted hacking of information was detected early.

The Aviation Information Sharing and Analysis Centre’s (AISAC) Executive Director, Jeff Troy said that the attack had limited effect on the systems and they have taken steps to prevent a repeat occurrence. Troy refused to comment on the details of the breach.

AISAC represents various sectors of the aviation industry, including airports, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and satellite builders.

The aviation sector is a popular target for hackers and terrorists due to the significant effect that an attack can have on society.

For the full story see HERE.

United States offers a limited aviation deal to the United Kingdom

It was reported by Bloomberg in March that the United States has offered a limited “Open Skies” aviation deal to the United Kingdom – following their Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

Depending on the terms of the deal, it could affect transatlantic flight companies such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

The potential hurdle is that the United States requires that all foreign airlines to be majority owned by citizens of the country in which they are based. If imposed, the proposed ‘UK – US Open Skies agreement’ may impact on carriers which either have non-U.K. ownership or are contemplating a sale of shares to foreign ownership.

Transatlantic carriers have been reassured by officials that there will be some agreement to allow them to continue flying to the US – however the details of this have yet to be finalised.

The ‘UK – US Open Skies agreement’ negotiations began in January 2018 and are expected to be finalised shortly.

For the full story see HERE.