Read this post with a view toward the one just below it on a controversial decision of the National Mediation Board, Pilots at Southwest have approved a new five-year contract that gives them retroactive pay raises but ties the pay increases for this year and next to profitability, which isn't happening at the airline right now.

The new labor pact comes after three years of negotiation between the company and the Southwest Airline Pilots Association in a process described in the previous post that requires the two sides to keep talking, and talking, and talking, until they reach an agreement. The end result at airlines that respect and value their employees is a contract that all can live with.

The airline industry, or at least some of its leaders, is apoplectic this morning over a 2-1 vote by the Natiional Mediation Board that would make it easier for airline and rail workers to join a union. This little-known agency, created as a way to prevent labor disputes from shutting down the nation's transportation system, ruled that a majority of all workers at an airline or railroad could determine if they wanted union representation. Previously, a union could be rejected if only a majority of the employees who voted in an election -- not all the workers -- opposed representation

The Air Transport Association and others contend that the NMB overstepped its authority and that only Congress could change rule unionization rules. We will see what happens next. For now, read more details about the decision here. 

Surcharge that surcharge! The five major network airlines have added another $10 each way to the $10 surcharge they already have had in place for travel on the busiest holidays through New Year's. Let's see now, I believe that would be $40 for roundtrip tickets, or just $20 if you've decided to run away and not come back or take the bus home. Read more here.  

The Government Accountability Office (that's the right name, despite what this story says) has found that it can't yet determine the effect on airline safety of raising the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65. The FAA changed the rule two years ago, after a long campaign by pilots, saying that it relfected the the fact people are living longer and are generally in better health than when the age 60 rule was adopted decades ago.

The GAO report found there have been no accidents or incidents involving post-60 pilots but that a longer study period is needed to make any definitive conclusions. Read more in this story,  For the full government report, it's the most recent one listed on www.gao.gov, the agency's Web site.