Beware the Ides of March....3 March is thought to be the end of the 30 day Cooling Off Period.....at which point either of the parties can exercise "Self Help" measures.
Rumour has it that a grand total of 7-8 Contract Pilots are undergoing training at New Iberia.....one guy is said to have shown up for training wearing a PHPA hat.....wonder how that was received by the Brass?
I spent a weekend visiting with a friend who works for Air Log and found his perspective to very interesting. I came away from the weekend visit with a greater appreciation for the pilot's side of the argument.
A discussion of the issues fostered a notion that the company is not fighting this CBA purely due to financial concerns. Combine that with the oil industry reported the highest profits in history, it is plain acheiving rate increases is not the problem it is being made out to be.
Rumours coming out of the GOM suggest next year shall be a very good year for the offshore drilling industry....the oil companies have huge piles of money to invest in drilling.
It appears to me, and this is just one man's opinion, settling this CBA as quickly as possible and gearing up for the upswing in business would be the correct approach. If the GOM breaks open for drilling and OLOG has not resolved its labor problems, it will not able to attract and keep customers during the upswing in business. TEX Air/ERA is looking for business....and if PHI settles quickly.....while OLOG drags their feet in coming to a compromise solution....they stand to lose a lot of business.
With the two large contracts OLOG landed on the North Sea....and if they settle the GOM pilots CBA....they will be a force to be reckoned with. Otherwise....what they gained on the North Sea will be offset by a loss in the GOM.