Two unions representing Air France staff have called for strikes in January to protest the suspension of several employees in connection with the infamous “shirt-ripping” incident and plans to cut 3,000 jobs over the next two years.
UGICT-CGT, the largest of the two unions, has called for a strike on January 28 to protest the job cuts as well as the legal action taken against five employees involved in an October 5 attack on Air France officials after the airline presented its restructuring plan.
The union is also protesting the airline’s plans to spin off some of its operations.
“In 2016 we’re letting nothing go,” the union wrote in its call for action.
Another union, the much smaller Alter which represents only 10 percent of all Air France pilots, has called for a much longer strike, set to take place between January 10 and 13, “to protest the scandalous disciplinary procedures” involving two of its members.
The two pilots represented by Alter were suspended in October after helping angry demonstrators enter the company’s headquarters near the Charles de Gaulle airport in connection with the October layoff announcement.
Violent demonstration in October
Pictures of two Air France executives fleeing the October demonstration – dress shirts and suit jackets ripped – made headlines around the world and set off a war of words between French authorities and leaders sympathetic to the Air France workers. Two security guards were also injured in the incident.
French President François Hollande condemned the violence as “unacceptable”, saying it threatened the France’s image, Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the attackers “thugs”.
The union has asked the government, which owns 17.6 percent of the airline, to take a larger stake in the carrier and to become more involved in the talks – but the government has declined.
France 24 English
Silver Airways to serve Cuba starting next year
Silver Airways (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood) has announced its intention to resume nonstop service to Cuba in 2016. The company has a long history of providing charter flights to Cuba, and given the announcement of a new bilateral agreement between Cuba and the U.S., Silver plans to bring much needed commercial service to many Cuban destinations in the near future. The airline will apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation to serve most, if not all, of the ten approved destinations within Cuba, including Havana.
In light of the recent Cuba announcement as well as several other exciting growth opportunities within Florida and the Caribbean, the board of directors of Silver Airways has initiated a process to evaluate a range of strategic alternatives for the airline. The company has engaged Raymond James as its financial advisor to assist in exploring potential strategic partnerships, growth investments, and a merger or ownership transition that would enhance Silver’s ability to capitalize on these attractive growth opportunities.
Over the past five years, Silver has been transformed from a regional express carrier into a successful independent airline providing important air service to otherwise unserved or underserved cities across Florida and the Bahamas. As part of this transformation, the company was rebranded as Silver Airways, upgraded its fleet to SAAB 340B+ aircraft, launched its own Sabre reservation system, relocated its maintenance headquarters to Orlando, strengthened the leadership team, and implemented valuable commercial partnerships with a number of larger carriers, including United and JetBlue. These initiatives have created a compelling value proposition and unique customer experience, and have driven Silver’s revenue to nearly triple since 2011. The board is now considering several opportunities that will accelerate growth and geographic expansion, including the opening of the Cuban market.
World Airline News
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Silver Airways, Florida’s largest intrastate airline, today announced its intention to resume nonstop service to Cuba in 2016. The company has a long history of providing charter flights to Cuba, and given the announcement of a new bilateral agreement between Cuba and the U.S., Silver plans to bring much needed commercial service to many Cuban destinations in the near future. The airline will apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation to serve most, if not all, of the ten approved destinations within Cuba, including Havana. Silver Airways has a robust Sabre distribution platform and its flights can be purchased on SilverAirways.com as well as through many online travel websites. With code share partners, United and JetBlue, and interline agreements with many other domestic and international airlines, Silver is extremely well positioned to operate nonstop scheduled service from various Florida points to Cuba, the Bahamas and further into the Caribbean.
In light of the recent Cuba announcement as well as several other exciting growth opportunities within Florida and the Caribbean, the board of directors of Silver Airways has initiated a process to evaluate a range of strategic alternatives for the airline. The company has engaged Raymond James as its financial advisor to assist in exploring potential strategic partnerships, growth investments, and a merger or ownership transition that would enhance Silver’s ability to capitalize on these attractive growth opportunities.
Over the past five years, Silver has been transformed from a regional express carrier into a successful independent airline providing important air service to otherwise unserved or underserved cities across Florida and the Bahamas. As part of this transformation, the company was rebranded as Silver Airways, upgraded its fleet to Saab 340B+ aircraft, launched its own Sabre reservation system, relocated its maintenance headquarters to Orlando, strengthened the leadership team, and implemented valuable commercial partnerships with a number of larger carriers, including United and JetBlue. These initiatives have created a compelling value proposition and unique customer experience, and have driven Silver’s revenue to nearly triple since 2011. The board is now considering several opportunities that will accelerate growth and geographic expansion, including the opening of the Cuban market.
“We have made tremendous strides as an airline and have successfully accomplished the main objectives the board set out for us. With tremendous opportunities in Cuba now emerging just off the shores of our primary market, it is exactly the right time to pursue strategic alternatives for our airline,” said Silver Airway’s CEO Sami Teittinen. “As the board undertakes this process, Silver remains focused first and foremost on operating at the highest level of safety and looks forward to expanding our scheduled service to new Cuban destinations in the near future.”
Business Wire
jetBlue plans to offer free Wi-Fi on entire fleet by 2016
Although this year for passengers there’s less legroom and a fee to check a bag, JetBlue will soon offer one perk that no other airline is offering: free Wi-Fi on all of its flights.
The airline announced Wednesday it had completed equipping just under three-quarters of its fleet with Fly-Fi — a satellite broad band Internet technology — and by next fall, all of its planes will offer the free Wi-Fi service.
“Our Fly-Fi model has proven that there is a way to offer customers more without adding extra costs to their travel,” said Jamie Perry, JetBlue’s vice president of brand and product development.
Boasting up to 20 mbps per device at 35,000 feet, Fly-Fi will allow passengers to to stream videos — such as Netflix and Hulu — and browse the internet similar to what customers have at home, the airline said in its release.
While Virgin Airlines will also be offering Wi-Fi with similar speeds in its entire fleet by early next year, the airlines plans to introduce a pricing plan for the service in 2016. Virgin introduced the service in July for free trial period on 10 of its planes.
In addition, JetBlue announced its partnership with Amazon to bring on-demand entertainment, dubbed Amazon Video, which will allow Amazon Prime members to stream TV shows and movies inflight as part of their paid membership.
NJ.com