Continental pilots win case over small-jet flights
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DALLAS — In a victory for Continental Airlines pilots, an arbitrator ruled that the airline can't put its name on United Express flights operated from Continental's hub airports.
The pilots' union argued that its contract with the airline required that Continental pilots fly 70-seat planes carrying the airline's name.
Arbitrator Richard Bloch agreed with the union in a ruling issued Thursday.
Parent United Continental Holdings Inc., which also operates United Airlines, planned to add Continental's name or "code" to several dozen United Express flights from hubs in Houston, Newark, N.J., and Cleveland.
The union said its contract requires that planes with more than 50 seats be flown by Continental pilots, not pilots of regional carriers under contract to Continental. To pilots, that's seen as a job-protection measure.
But United, which has a separate contract with its pilots, is permitted to shift such flights to regional affiliates. Parent United Continental wanted to put Continental's code on some of those flights.
Continental spokeswoman Julie King said the company would comply with the ruling. She said some of the United Express flights could still be shifted to meet demand at Continental hubs. But the company won't be able to advertise them as Continental flights.
Meanwhile, the company and two pilots' groups are seeking a federal mediator's help in negotiating a single labor contract for United and Continental. The airlines combined as one company in October but must fly as separate airlines until federal officials let them merge fleets and operations, which is expected in late 2011.
Shares of Chicago-based United Continental fell 22 cents in after-hours trading Friday to $24.04.
