Good Week


© American Airlines

UNIONS Leaders at American Airlines' pilots union are heralding the Democrats' sweep of Congress and the White House as "a new day" for organised labour. The Allied Pilots Association reckons a Barack Obama-appointed National Mediation Board will help it break an impasse in two-year old contract talks and that Congress will be "more empathetic to our concerns". In vice-president Joe Biden, says the APA, unions will have a "labour champion".

Bad Week


© Rockwell Collins

ROCKWELL COLLINS 300 staff and 100 contract jobs will go in a cost-cutting plan as the weakening economy takes a toll on the tier 1, which is also deferring merit pay increases. Chief executive Clay Jones cited "challenges [including] air travel declines resulting from the weaker global economy, delays and cancellations in several government programmes, and the prolonged Boeing strike." The cuts follow a 2% drop in Collins' 2009 sales forecast.

Source: Flight International