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Agents avoid US Airways
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March 22, 2000: 5:51 p.m. ET
Passengers, airlines, make preparations as flight attendant strike deadline nears
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Travel agents have been shying away from booking clients on US Airways in recent days as the looming threat of a Saturday strike by the air carrier's flight attendants drew closer.
Negotiations between The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents about 10,000 US Airways flight attendants, and the nation's sixth largest carrier continue. But if a settlement on a new three-year contract is not reached by midnight Friday, the union said it would enact a strike plan dubbed CHAOS - Create Havoc Around Our System.
The plan calls for random strikes on the airline's busiest routes such as Charlotte, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, when a mandatory 30-day cooling off period ends at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
US Airways flight attendants have not had a raise in four years.
In response, the airline has said it would unilaterally shut down the airline to avoid subjecting passengers to a strike.
Protecting passengers
"We're advising people that are flying on US Airways that there is a potential for a strike," said Scott Guerrero, vice president and general manager of Maritz Travel in New York City. "...What we're doing is re-protecting them (re-scheduling) on other flights as a backup. If they're going to Philadelphia, they may have to take a connection through another city, but this is the general process."
Guerrero also said his agents are advising clients obtain traditional paper tickets rather than electronic tickets because of the difficulty of transferring them to different carriers.
Steven Bussell, an agent with Empress Travel in New York, said he hasn't booked many US Airways customers to fly on Saturday, but customers who travel before the strike deadline could have trouble making connections for the return trip.
"If you go to Charlotte, 90 percent of the flights are US Air. And Pittsburgh, try finding another flight that goes there," Bussell said. "Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, they're owned by that airline."
And Ruth Hunger, an agent with Cameo Travel Service Inc., said she has been encouraging clients to book with other airlines as well.
"I've been steering clear of it (US Airways) since it became obvious that there might be a strike," Hunter said. "...Some routes are difficult to do without US Air. Some of the places, they're particularly huge in the northeastern sector."
Preparing for the worst
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has been making preparations to move stranded passengers through its airports, which include John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, and Newark Airport. But the sheer number of passengers means some passengers will inevitably find themselves stuck.
"We are coordinating with the other airlines. Unfortunately we don't believe there's enough capacity, on the Delta Shuttle for example, to serve everybody. But we're doing our best to serve as many people as possible," Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesman said. "What we're doing is we're going to have extra customer service folks at the US Airways terminal at LaGuardia, and additional customer service representatives to help find alternate travel arrangements."
Coleman said the US Airways shuttle, which mostly accommodates business travelers, has 127 departures a day from LaGuardia and 138 arrivals.
Amtrak announced Wednesday that it would honor US Airways tickets beginning March 25 to points the railroad serves, particularly on its Northeast Corridor, which links Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Amtrak officials said the railroad is prepared to add up to 1,500 additional seats to serve any potential influx of US Airways passengers. Amtrak's Metroliner service between New York and Washington competes directly against air shuttles also serving those points.
US Airways (U: Research, Estimates) shares slid 3/8 to 22-5/8 on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday.
US Airways flight attendants are paid for hours worked from the time a plane's door is closed before take-off to when it opens after landing, with the average union member traveling 17 days and working 80 flight hours a month.
Salaries range from about $17,000 for newly hired reserves to nearly $37,000 for flight attendants with more than 13 years experience.
"All we're asking for is to be treated fairly, and thus far at the negotiating table, leading up to last Friday anyway, we haven't been given that chance," Jeff Zack, a spokesman for the Association of Flight Attendants in an interview on CNNfn's Street Sweep program Wednesday.
Michelle Bryan, a US Airways spokeswoman, said the carrier has offered the flight attendants wages and benefits comparable with the four largest U.S. airlines.
"The message that we're trying to get across is that we need a cost competitive contract," Bryan said on Street Sweep. "We've offered our flight attendants the same deal that we've offered every employee group at US Airways and one that the other employee groups have accepted, and that is parity -- the same wages, benefits and work rules that the top four airlines in the country offer their flight attendants." 
-- from staff and wire reports
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