The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) has raised some concerns about Waltzing Matilda Aviation’s plans to create a new airline called Connect Airlines. ALPA has concerns about the labor ramifications of Connect Airlines’ business plan that will see it primarily use Toronto as its base while looking to market itself as a US airline.
ALPA expresses concerns over Connect Airlines
In a filing with the Department of Transportation (DOT), ALPA raised some of its concerns over how Connect Airlines was setting up its labor operations. The airline has applied for permission to be a primarily US airline, but ALPA notes that its initial routes are all centered around Toronto City’s Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ), with flights planned to five US destinations. Waltzing Matilda is the parent company, and under it, Connect Airlines would operate these flights.
Connect Airlines noted that it would be using Toronto-based crew with salaries on a Canadian commuter pay scale. It also asks for an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow its Canadian flight crews to receive permission to operate US flights.
ALPA noted that Connect Airlines, by seeking to hire Canadian crew, could “hire crew at cheaper rates.” The benefit comes from airlines that reduced their workforce, leaving more pilots looking for jobs. This leads the union to claim that Connect Airlines is circumventing US pay scales and market competition forces by using Canadian labor.
Concerns about air service development
Connect Airlines has noted that it plans on building out a US domestic network after first establishing operations from Toronto. This leads ALPA to question if a US startup airline has ever received authorizations to start services if “its primary place of business and only pilot base” is located in another country.
ALPA notes that if Connect Airlines were to bring its operations into the United States, it has questions about the airline enjoying an “unfair advantage” by using Canadian labor paid at a lower rate to run services in the US.
ALPA worries that this could lead to a wider-scale implementation of such business practices. It worries that it could lead other carriers to set up crew bases outside of the United States and bring them into the domestic market, thereby competing against US crew with higher wage structures, which could later undermine US wages and working conditions.
ALPA poses its questions
ALPA poses questions that the DOT should be asking of Connect Airlines:
- Describe in detail the reasons why the Applicant is seeking a U.S. operating certificate for an operation based in Canada?
- Does the Applicant plan to establish a subsidiary or affiliated carrier in Canada?
- Does the Applicant plan to use Canadian nationals or other non-U.S. crews to operate services that are held out to the traveling public wholly between U.S. points?
- If the Applicant plans to employ non-U.S. nationals as cockpit and cabin crewmembers, what legal authority does the Applicant intend to use to permit such employees to perform work in the United States?
- If the Applicant intends to secure U.S. work visas or other employment authorizations for its non-U.S. employees, what specific instruments does it intend to use, and when does the Applicant plan to initiate the relevant processes to secure those instruments?
- Identify the legal authority on which the Applicant relies for the statement that “DHS immigration requirements” are sufficient to cover “all trips conducted by Canadian flight crews will originate and terminate in Canada,” and describe in detail the components of the Applicant’s planned operations it believes fall within the ambit of that authority.
- Describe a typical crew “trip” rotation, starting from base, once the Applicant’s proposed U.S. domestic services are begun, e.g., Boston-Philadelphia, Boston-Baltimore/Washington.
- What flight time qualifications will new-hires possess for FAA licensing? Describe the timeline and process for FAA licensing of the Applicant’s Canadian pilots.
- Provide a list of all meetings held with major U.S. airlines concerning codeshare, interline, and/or marketing agreements of any type. Provide copies of all meeting materials, including presentations, analysis, and meeting minutes. Provide draft copies of any proposed codeshare, interline and/or marketing agreements.
ALPA is, essentially, asking the DOT to seek out more information on Connect Airlines and how the airline could potentially impact labor and operations in the US. As a union, ALPA is concerned mainly with ensuring that US pilots are protected from outsourcing or becoming less competitive.