10 sep 2015

http://www.foxnews.com/

United CEO Jeff Smisek steps down amid federal investigation NEW YORK – The chairman and CEO of United Airlines is stepping down in connection with an investigation into the airline's dealings with the former chairman of the agency that operates New York-area airports.

United Continental Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that Jeff Smisek and two other senior executives had resigned and railroad executive Oscar Munoz was named CEO and president.

United disclosed earlier this year that the company and some of its executives had received subpoenas from a federal grand jury for information about its dealings with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. United said it was conducting its own internal investigation.

Former Port Authority chairman David Samson's activities have been subject of document requests from the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey, including Samson's votes on United Airlines projects at Newark Airport at the same time United was restarting flights from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina, near where Samson has a vacation home.

United began an about twice-weekly direct flight from Newark to Columbia that began after Samson became chairman and was canceled days after he Smisek was CEO of Continental Airlines before it merged with United in 2010. He has been under pressure for several years as United was slower than Delta Air Lines to return to profitability and also suffered several embarrassing computer outages, the latest in June and July, that led to large numbers of delays and canceled flights.

A filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission described the terms of Smisek's separation agreement. He'll receive a separation payment in the amount of $4,875,000, and remain eligible for a pro-rated bonus. Smisek will have health insurance until his is eligible for Medicare, and maintain flight benefits and parking privileges for the remainder of his lifetime. He also gets to keep his company car. resigned last year.

Smisek also agreed to cooperate fully with United "in the defense, prosecution or conduct of any claims or investigations which relate to events or occurrences that transpired" while Smisek was employed.

Samson, a former state attorney general in New Jersey, headed Gov. Chris Christie's transition team and was appointed chairman of the Port Authority

by Christie in in 2011. He resigned in March 2014, several months after the scandal surrounding politically motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge the previous September.

Munoz was a United board member and chief operating officer at freight railroad CSX Corp. Another director, Henry L. Meyer III, was named nonexecutive chairman.

In a letter to employees, Munoz said that executive vice president Nene Foxhall and senior vice president Mark Anderson also stepped down. Both oversaw government affairs at the Chicago-based airline.

Munoz said the company had an "incredible opportunity" to increase earnings and improve the flying experience.

http://www.usnews.com/

Court Orders Lufthansa Strike Over BERLIN (AP) — A German court has issued an injunction ordering a halt to a strike by pilots at Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline.

The state labor court in Frankfurt issued the injunction on Wednesday, news agency dpa reported, after Lufthansa said it had canceled 1,000 flights. It wasn't immediately clear what practical effect the ruling would have.

The pilots' union, Vereinigung Cockpit, began its strike on long-haul flights Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of 90 flights, and extended the walk-out to medium-and short-haul flights Wednesday.

Lufthansa says some 140,000 travelers were affected but that about 500 of the airline's flights would still operate. Subsidiaries Germanwings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines or Brussels Airlines weren't involved.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

Lufthansa gets tough on strike FRANKFURT — Lufthansa will seek to block an escalation of this week’s pilot strike in court after a walkout pushed it to cancel more than 1,000 flights.

The German airline will impose a hiring freeze and limit the scope of labour talks as it adopts a tougher stance after the Vereinigung Cockpit union told members to include European flights in a strike that has crippled long-haul operations.

Europe’s second-biggest airline slashed timetables in preparation for the walkout by pilots of Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and Embraer narrow-body aircraft, taking cancellations for the week to four figures. A strike by widebody crews grounded half of its long-haul flights on Tuesday.

Pilots resumed industrial action six months after 12 rounds of strikes ended as management and unions came together in the wake of a crash at Lufthansa’s Germanwings arm.

CEO Carsten Spohr, who said last week he was ready to endure more strikes to compete with low-cost carriers and Persian Gulf rivals, has already twice cut earnings guidance.

"The financial damage is increasing," Dirk Schlamp, an analyst at DZ Bank in Frankfurt, said, adding there was a "relative high likelihood" of further action that would also take a reputational toll on Lufthansa.

The carrier said it had filed injunctions with courts in Cologne, where it is based, and Frankfurt, home to its main hub, to stop the latest strike. An emergency case lodged last October was rejected by courts in Frankfurt.

A separate case has been filed seeking compensation from Vereinigung Cockpit related to a strike in April last year.

Talks with the union would be strictly limited to collective bargaining issues, the carrier said, adding that the hiring freeze at Lufthansa, Germanwings and cargo operations would result in shrinking aircraft fleets.

Bettina Volkens, Lufthansa board member for human resources, said each strike diminished the scope for finding a solution.

Bloomberg

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