Wanna glass of vino on an airline? Here's the skinny:
What wine, champagne and port airlines offer

What wine, champagne and port are on airlines' wine lists for October through December.

AirTran
•Coach, Domestic & International Flights 2008 Coastal Ridge Chardonnay; 2007 Coastal Ridge Merlot; 2008 Casa Mayor Chardonnay; 2008 Casa Mayor Merlot.
•Premium Class, Domestic & International Flights 2008 Coastal Ridge Chardonnay; 2007 Coastal Ridge Merlot; 2008 Casa Mayor Chardonnay; 2008 Casa Mayor Merlot.

Alaska
•Coach, Domestic & International Flights Stone Cellars Chardonnay; Stone Cellars Cabernet; Sutter Home Chardonnay; Sutter Home Merlot.

•Premium Class, Domestic & International Flights 2007 Apex Chardonnay; 2007 Apex II Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Washington Hills Chardonnay; 2007 Washington Hills Merlot; 2007 Washington Hills Syrah Summit Reserve; 2007 Waterbrook Chardonnay; 2005 Pavin & Riley Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Bridgman Chardonnay.

Allegiant
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2007 Sutter Home Cabernet; 2007 Sutter Home Chardonnay; 2007 Sutter Home White Zinfandel.

American
•Coach, Domestic Flights Domaine Laurier Brut; 2007 Hayes Ranch Sauvignon Blanc; Tamas Estates Pinot Grigio; 2005 Bernal Estates Syrah; 2006 La Palma Cabernet Sauvignon; 2008 La Maridelle Merlot; 2007 Sutter Home Merlot; 2007 Sutter Home Chardonnay; Pacific Vista Pinot Grigio.

•Premium Class, Domestic Flights Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Carneros Brut; Domaine Ste. Michelle Washington Brut; 2007 Buena Vista Carneros Chardonnay; 2007 Kiwi Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 OneHope Zinfandel; 2007 OneHope Chardonnay; 2007 OneHope Sauvignon Blanc; 2003 Foris Merlot; 2008 Warburn Estate Gossips Chardonnay; 2004 Murphy-Goode Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Buena Vista Carneros Pinot Noir;

2008 Cachuma California Shiraz; 2007 Lot 205 Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Lot 205 Zinfandel; 2004 Waca Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon; Scudo di Corte Prosecco I.G.T.; 2007 Montevina Chardonnay; 2008 Principato Pinot Grigio; 2008 Woodhaven Chardonnay; 2008 Pasqua Pinot Grigio; 2007 Gerard Bertrand Aigle Noir Pinot Noir;

2007 Helena Ranch Merlot; 2008 Arniston Bay Cabernet Merlot; 2006 Taja Monastrell; 2007 Stone Barn Merlot; 2006 Glass Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon; 2009 De Gras Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Canyon Oaks Chardonnay; 2008 Canyon Road Chardonnay; 2007 Elsa Bianchi Torrontes; 2006 Mount Linden Chardonnay; Graham's Six Grapes Port.

•Coach, International Flights Bouvet Brut; 2008 Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon; 2005 Château La Marzenac Bordeaux; 2005 Hayes Ranch Syrah; 2007 Sol Casal Tempranillo; 2007 Domaine de Pellehaut Blanc, Gascogne; 2008 Château de Nivelle Bordeaux Blanc; 2007 Frederic Roger Vins Chardonnay.

•Premium Class, International Flights Champagne G.H. Martel & Co. Brut Prestige; Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut; Champagne Pommery Brut; 2007 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay; 2006 Wegeler Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Spätlese; 2003 Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino; 2006 Joseph Drouhin Rully; 2008 Falanghina Feudi di San Gregorio; 2003 Domaine Duclaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 2005 Château Batailley (Pauillac); 2006 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec; 2006 Andeluna "Winemakers' Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon;

2008 Aresti Estate Collection Carmenere; 2008 Aresti Estate Collection Chardonnay; 2003 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon; 2003 Arrowood Merlot; 2007 Castle Rock Central Coast Pinot Noir; 2003 Château Belgrave, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux; 2006 Château Du Seuil Graves Blanc; 2006 Château Grand Destieu St. Emilion Grand Cru; 2003 Château Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot; 2006 Château Teyssier St. Emilion Grand Cru; 2004 Château Villa Bel Air; 2006 Cloudline Oregon Pinot Noir;

2005 The Colonial Estate Explorateur Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa; 2007 Conde de Valdemar Blanco Fermentado Barrica; 2004 Cyan Prestigio; 2002 Domaine Vincent Sauvestre Chablis Premier Cru Beauroy; 2005 Domaine Vincent Sauvestre Pommard Clos de la Platiere; 2007 Fabre Montmayou Malbec Reserve; 2007 Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera; 2002 Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Groom Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc; Heidsieck-Monopole Brut Champagne; 2006 Inniskillin Oak Aged Vidal Icewine; 2006 Kaiken Malbec; 2006 Riff Pinot Grigio; 2007 Montes Classic Series Chardonnay;

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve Particuliere; 2007 One World Pinotage; 2006 Pascal Bouchard Chablis Vieilles Vignes Grande Reserve du Domaine; 2006 Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc; 2006 Rusca Gavi di Gavi DOCG; 2005 Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Scarbolo Chardonnay, Fruili; 2008 Seven Sisters "Vivian" Sauvignon Blanc; 2005 Steel Creek Pinot Noir; 2008 Tabali Reserva Especial Chardonnay; 2006 Val Do Sosego Albarino, Rias Baixas; 2006 Warburn Premium Reserve Pinot Grigio;

2004 Wattle Creek Alexander Valley Shiraz; 2006 Wegeler Estate Riesling; 2007 Willm Pinot Blanc Reserve; 2007 Willm Riesling Reserve; 1999 Graham's Malvedos Vintage Port; Graham's 20 Years Old Tawny Port; Emilio Lustau Amontillado La Plaza Viejo Sherry.

Continental
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2006 Uma Chardonnay; St. Germain Blanc; St. Germain Rouge; 2008 Redtree Chardonnay; 2007 Nostalgia Merlot.

•Premium Class, Domestic Flights Charles de Fere Jean-Louis; Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top; J.P. Chenet Brut; 2007 Randall Moore Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Telteca Tacones Chardonnay; 2007 McManis Merlot; 2007 McManis Cabernet Sauvignon.

•Coach, International Flights 2006 Uma Chardonnay; 2005 Louis Montellier Chardonnay; St. Germain Blanc; St. Germain Rouge; 2008 Redtree Chardonnay; 2007 Nostalgia Merlot.
•Premium Class, International Flights Charles de Fere Jean Louis; Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top; J.P. Chenet Brut; 2007 A to Z Chardonnay; 2005 Laetitia Pinot Blanc; 2007 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Domaine Laroche Chablis; 2005 Château Toumillon; 2007 Bouchard Pere et Fils St. Veran; 2007 Schloss Reinhartshausen Fountain Blue Riesling; 2006 Schloss Reinhartshausen Fountain Blue Riesling; 2007 Barberani Vallesanta; 2005 Moletto Pinot Grigio; Dow's Fine White Port; 2002 Quinta do Noval LBV Port;

2007 Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel; 2005 Rodney Strong Pinot Noir; 2006 RockBare Shiraz; 2006 Domaine de Beaurenard Rasteau Côtes du Rhône Village; 2007 Ogier Vacqueyras; 2004 Château Loudenne (Medoc); 2005 Château Bois Chantant St. Emilion Bordeaux; 2006 Château Lagrange Lussac; 2005 Château d'Argadens (Bordeaux Supérieur); 2005 Straccali Chianti; 2006 Dom Martinho; 2003 Ferreira Grand Red Douro; 2004 Telteca Anta Malbec; 2003 Miguel Torres Sangre de Toro.

Delta/Northwest
•Coach, Domestic Flights Gato Cabernet; Gato Chardonnay.
•Premium Class, Domestic Flights 2006 Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Callaway Cellar Selection Chardonnay.

•Coach, International Flights Bandit Chardonnay; Bandit Merlot; La Champagne Chardonnay; La Champagne Merlot; Prospect Hill Chardonnay; Prospect Hill Shiraz.

•Premium Class, International Flights 2007 Santa Ana Reserve Torrontes; 2006 Anne Boecklin Pinot Blanc Reserve; 2006 Sebastiani Chardonnay; 2006 Occhio a Vento Vermentino; 2007 Brampton Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Hermanos Lurton Rueda; 2005 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Domaine de la Griveliere Côtes du Rhône; 2005 Wente Southern Hills Cabernet; 2005 Belguardo Serrata Maremma; 2005 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Merlot; 2006 Mark West Pinot Noir; Scharffenberger Brut; 2003 Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Port; Jurancon Prestige.

Frontier
•Coach, Domestic Flights Kenwood Cuvée Brut; Woodbridge Merlot; Woodbridge Chardonnay; Hayes Ranch Chardonnay; Hayes Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.
•Coach, International Flights Kenwood Cuvée Brut; Woodbridge Merlot; Woodbridge Chardonnay; Hayes Ranch Chardonnay; Hayes Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.

Hawaiian
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2007 Tamas Cabernet Sauvignon; 2008 Tamas Chardonnay; Korbel Brut.
•Premium Class, Domestic Flights 2007 McManis Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Bogle Chardonnay; Cristalino Brut.
•Coach, International Flights 2007 McManis Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Bogle Chardonnay.
•Premium Class, International Flights 2007 McManis Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare; 2008 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Gris; Cristalino Brut.

Horizon
•Coach, Domestic & International Flights 2007 Washington Hills Chardonnay; 2007 Washington Hills Merlot; 2008 Randall Harris Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Randall Harris Merlot; 2006 Apex Chardonnay; 2006 Apex Cabernet.

JetBlue
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2007 Hope Estate Verdelho; 2007 Hope Estate Shiraz.
•Coach, International Flights 2007 Hope Estate Verdelho; 2007 Hope Estate Shiraz.
Midwest
•Coach, Domestic Flights Kenwood Cuvée Brut; Hayes Ranch Chardonnay; Hayes Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.

Southwest
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2007 Coastal Ridge Merlot; 2007 Coastal Ridge Chardonnay.
Spirit
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2008 Sutter Home Cabernet; 2007 Sutter Home Cabernet; 2008 Sutter Home Chardonnay; 2007 Sutter Home Chardonnay.
•Coach, International Flights 2008 Sutter Home Cabernet; 2007 Sutter Home Cabernet; 2008 Sutter Home Chardonnay; 2007 Sutter Home Chardonnay.

United
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2007 Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Redwood Creek Chardonnay.
•Premium Class, Domestic Flights 2008 Bushman's Gully Shiraz; 2007 Canyon Road Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Canyon Road Chardonnay; 2008 De Bortoli Selection Shiraz; 2008 Trapiche Merlot; 2005 Montevina Zinfandel; 2006 Stone Barn Chardonnay; 2008 Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Yali Chardonnay.
•Coach, International Flights 2007 Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Redwood Creek Chardonnay.

•Premium Class, International Flights 1998 Heidsieck Monopole Cuvée Diamant; 2003 Louis Roederer Brut; 2002 Nicolas Feuillatte Brut; 2002 Pannier Brut; 2000 Philipponnat Brut; Iron Horse Brut; Mumm Napa Brut; 2007 Andean Malbec Reserve; 2005 Benziger Merlot; 2005 Oberon Cabernet Sauvignon; 2005 Rodney Strong Symmetry Meritage; 2006 Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon; 2005 Artesa Meritage;

2006 Wakefield Shiraz; 2006 Bouchard Beaune Avaux; 2005 Bouchard Pommard; 2005 Capcanes Vall del Calas Merlot-Tempranillo; 2006 Champy Pinot Noir; 2006 Château Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc; 2008 Groom Sauvignon Blanc; 2006 Laetitia Chardonnay; 2007 Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc; 2005 Robert Mondavi Chardonnay; 2006 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay; 2007 Te Hira Sauvignon Blanc; 2006 Bouchard Les Clous (Chardonnay); 2006 La Chablisienne La Singuliere (Chardonnay); 2007 Laboure-Roi Les Chevaliers (Chardonnay); 2007 Saget Domaine de la Perriere Sancerre;

2007 Selbach-Oster Riesling Kabinett; Etoile Brut; Gloria Ferrer Brut; 2007 Firestone Vineyard Select Chardonnay; 2007 Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc; 2006 Hayman & Hill Reserve Chardonnay; 2008 iSong Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Lockwood Chardonnay; 2006 Simi Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Stormhoek Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Trapiche Oak Cask Chardonnay; 2007 Andean Malbec; 2005 Firestone Vineyard Select Merlot; 2005 Jindalee Circle Cabernet Sauvignon; 2005 L de Lyeth Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Lucas & Lewellen Queen of Hearts Pinot Noir; 2007 Masterpeace Shiraz; 2007 Solterra Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Trapiche Oak Cask Cabernet Sauvignon; 2003 Graham's Late Bottle Vintage Port.

USAIRWAYS
•Coach, Domestic Flights Turning Leaf Merlot; 2005 Beringer Stone Cellars Cabernet; 2006 Beringer Stone Cellars Chardonnay.
•Premium Class, Domestic Flights 2007 Cypress Vineyards Chardonnay; 2007 Montevina Chardonnay; 2007 Cachuma Cabernet; 2006 Cachuma Cabernet.
•Coach, International Flights Turning Leaf Merlot, 2005 Beringer Stone Cellars Cabernet; 2006 Beringer Stone Cellars Chardonnay.
•Premium Class, International Flights 2007 Callaway Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Matchbook Tempranillo; Wente Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Callia Alta Chardonnay Torrontes; Quinta do Noval Port; Charles de Fere Blanc de Blancs; Pol Clement Brut; Scharffenberger Brut.

Virgin America
•Coach, Domestic Flights 2006 Wente Chardonnay; 2005 Wente Chardonnay; 2006 Wente Cabernet Sauvignon.
•Premium Class, Domestic Flights 2006 St. Francis Sonoma County Chardonnay; 2004 St. Francis Sonoma County Syrah; 2007 Mirassou Pinot Noir; 2007 Mirassou Sauvignon Blanc; 2006 Château Julien Barrel-Aged Merlot; 2007 Château Julien Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay.
Foreign airlines' flights to/from the USA

Air France
•Coach Chanoine Brut Grande Réserve; Wente Chardonnay; 2008 La Vieille Ferme (Perrin & Fils), Côtes du Lubéron, Côtes du Ventoux.
•Premium Class 2003 Louis Roederer Brut Millésimé; Lanson Black Label Brut; 2003 Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh "Vendémiaire" Alain Brumont; 2006 M. Chapoutier, Condrieu Invitare; 2005 Antonin Rodet Mercurey 1er Cru en Sazenay; 2004 Saint-Emilion Château Canon; 2006 Champs Royaux Reliquat, Chablis, William Fèvre; 2005 Champs Royaux Reliquat, Chablis, William Fèvre; 2004 Château Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc; 2003 Château Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc; 2006 d'Antoine Ogier Crozes Hermitage "Les Allégories."

Air New Zealand
•Coach Montana Lindauer Brut; 2006 Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay; 2006 Spinyback Chardonnay; 2007 Five Flax Chardonnay; 2008 Lake Chalice Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Sugar Loaf wines; 2008 Devil's Staircase Pinot Noir; Carrick Unravelled Pinot Noir; 2008 Russian Jack Pinot Noir; 2007 Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot; 2007 Southbank Estate Syrah; 2007 Mission Estate Merlot; 2008 Waimea Estate Spinyback Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Bensen Block Sauvignon Blanc.

•Premium Class 2007 Sileni Syrah, Cellar Selection; 2007 Saint Clair Pioneer Block 17 Bay Block Merlot; 2007 Villa Maria Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, Cellar Selection; 2007 Ata Rangi Celebre; 2007 Forrest Pinot Noir; 2007 Mondillo Pinot Noir; 2007 Saint Clair Pinot Noir, Pioneer Block 14 Doctor's Creek; 2007 Montana Pinot Noir, Gabriel's Gully; 2007 Villa Maria Pinot Noir, Cellar Selection; 2008 Montana Sauvignon Blanc, Festival Block; 2008 Kahurangi Estate Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Coopers Creek Chardonnay, Swamp Reserve;

2007 Wither Hills Chardonnay; 2007 Alpha Domus Chardonnay, Barrique Fermented; 2007 Lawson's Dry Hills Chardonnay; 2008 Hunter's Gewurztraminer; 2007 Morton Estate Musetta Rose, White Label; 2008 West Brook Riesling; 2008 Wither Hills Pinot Gris; 2008 The Edge Viognier, Escarpment Vineyards; 2008 Forrest Noble Riesling; 2007 Konrad Sigrun Noble Two; 2007 Rose Tree Cottage Noble Riesling.

All Nippon
•Coach Chambler Vin Mousseux Brut; 2008 Gaston Cabernet Sauvignon; Vin de Pays d'Oc; 2008 La Baume Chardonnay.

•Premium Class 2006 Château Labouré Roi, Meursault 1er Cru Bouches Chères; 2007 Schug Chardonnay; 2007 Wegeler Riesling Spätlese, Wehlener Sonnenuhr; 2005 Château Bergat; 2004 Domaine des Perdrix, Nuits Saint Georges, 1er Cru, Aux Perdrix; 2005 Franciscan Oakville Estates Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Nagano Merlot; 2007 Château Julien Barrel Fermented Chardonnay; 2008 Babich Sauvignon Blanc; 2006 Lockwood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon; 2007 Domaine Ninot Erell Mercurey.

British Airways
•Coach Kupferberg Gold; 2004 Prieur des Jacobins; Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon; Redtree Chardonnay; 2008 Château Belair.

•Premium Class Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top; Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve; Ayala Brut Majeur; 2000 Bollinger Grande Annee; 2007 Terra do Gargalo Monterrei; 2006 Marmesa Vineyards Chardonnay; 2007 Château De Rully, Rully; 2009 Alexanderfontein Sauvignon Blanc; 2006 Montes Alpha Syrah; 2005 Château Bournac; 2007 La Haute Marone; Gigondas; 2006 Los Osos Merlot; 2006 Valdivieso Cabernet Franc; 2006 Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Valmur; 2007 Terrassen Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal; 2007 Hahn Pinot Gris; 2007 Artesa Chardonnay; 2002 Château Batailley (Pauillac); 2001 Château Cantemerle, Haut-Médoc; 2004 Grand Tinel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 2006 Closerie de Vaudieu, Châteauneuf-du-Pape; 2006 Château Ste. Michelle Merlot, Indian Wells; 1998 Château Coutet, Barsac; 1992 Warre's Colheita Port.

Cathay Pacific
•Coach 2007 Domaine La Combe; VDP de L'Herault Merlot; 2008 Madison Ridge Chardonnay; 2007 Cantine Due Palme Canonico IGT Negroamaro, Salento.

•Premium Class Champagne Amour de Deutz 99; Champagne Deutz Brut Classic; Champagne Krug; 2006 Mormoreto (Frescobaldi); 2006 Felipe Rutini Malbec Reserve; 2001 Château Lynch-Bages; 2005 Bouchard Pere & Fils Meursault, Les Clous; 2005 Henri de Villamont Meursault; 2004 Cuvaison Estate Chardonnay; 2006 Wente Riva Ranch Reserve Chardonnay; 2005 Nipozzano (Frescobaldi) Riserva; 2005 Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Vieux Château Landon, Haut-Médoc; 2005 Vieux Château Landon, Haut-Médoc; 2008 Beringer Stone Cellars Chardonnay; 2008 P. Ferraud & Fils Vire Clesse; 2007 Delphine de Margon Chardonnay.
EL AL
•Coach 2007 Binyamina Merlot
•Premium Class Brut Private Collection; 2006 Golan Basalt Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve; 2005 Golan Basalt Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve; 2008 Chardonnay Recanati; 2007 Chardonnay Recanati; 2007 Adamah Basalt Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Adamah Basalt Cabernet Sauvignon; 2005 Yarden Merlot; 2004 Yarden Merlot; 2007 Dalton Safsufa Cabernet Sauvignon; 2008 Tishbi Estate Sauvignon Blanc; 2007 Tishbi Estate Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 C Blanc du Castel Chardonnay; 2007 C Blanc du Castel Chardonnay; 2006 Dalton White Safsufa; 2007 Yarden HeightsWine; 2006 Yarden HeightsWine.

Finnair
•Coach Bernard Massard Brut, Cuvée l'Ecusson; 2008 Tandarra Shiraz, Cuvée Prestige; 2008 Tandarra Chardonnay, Cuvée Prestige.
•Premium Class 2003 Joseph Perrier Brut, Cuvée Royale; 2003 Château Coufran, Cru Bourgeois Superieur; 2004 Pezzo Morgana, Salice Salentino; 2007 Regnard Chardonnay; 2007 Clos Henri Fusional; 2007 Opitz One; 1995 Niepoort Port.

Iberia
•Coach 2008 Canforrales (red); 2008 Faustino VII (white)
•Premium Class Castillo Perelada, Brut Reserva; 2006 Inspiración Valdemar, Rioja; 2008 Martín Códax, Rías Baixas; 2008 Fontana Fontal, La Mancha; 2005 Marqués de Riscal Reserva, Rioja; 2005 Marco Real Crianza, Colección Privada; 2006 Condado de Haza Crianza, Ribera del Duero; 2008 Mara Martín Godello, Monterrei; 2008 Naia Verdejo, Rueda; 2005 Valtravieso Crianza, Ribera del Duero; 2006 Hécula Monastrell, Yecla; Tres Leones (Moscatel de Alejandría) Sweet, Málaga.

Japan
•Coach Piper-Heidsieck Brut; Japan Airlines Bergerac; Japan Airlines Fleur de Tarn.
•Premium Class 1997 Champagne Salon; 1996 Henriot Brut Millesime; 2000 Perrier-Jouét Brut, Cuvée Belle Epoque; Piper-Heidsieck Brut; 2007 Remoissenet Puligny Montrachet, 1er Cru, Les Garennes; 2007 Nicolas Potel Volnay, 1er Cru; 2006 Clos Du Bois Chardonnay; 2007 Duerkheimer Hochmess Riesling Spätlese Trocken; 2007 Grace Taru Koshu; 2006 Chateau Calon Segur (Saint-Estephe); 2004 Silkwood Syrah; 2003 Haras de Pirque "Albis" (Cabernet Sauvignon); 2005 Abbaye des Fontenay Macon Villages, Les Truites; 2007 Robert Pepi Sauvignon Blanc; 2005 Miguel Torres Nerola; 2006 Morro Bay Cabernet Sauvignon; 2004 Domaine Louis Max Mercurey, Vigne du Domaine; 2004 Château de By (Medoc).

KLM
•Coach 2008 Terra Andina Cabernet; 2008 Terra Andina Merlot; 2008 Terra Andina Chardonnay; 2008 Terra Andina Sauvignon Blanc.
•Premium Class Billecart-Salmon; 2006 Château Carignan; 2009 The Ned Sauvignon Blanc; 2005 Tempus Two; 2008 Cono Sur Chardonnay Reserve; 2009 Kleine Schorre; 2006 Pinehurst Pinotage; 2009 Boschendal Sauvignon Blanc; 2003 Taylor's LBV Port; Croft Pink Port.

Luftansa
•Coach 2007 Fairseat Cellars Shiraz; 2007 De Gras Cabernet Sauvignon; 2009 Moselland Riesling Nahe; 2008 Allendorf Festival Riesling.

•Premium Class D de Devaux Brut; Jacquart Brut Mosaique; 2004 Domini Veneti Amarone della Valpolicella Classico; 2008 Meersburger Jungfernstieg; 2006 Rutherford Ranch Chardonnay; 2007 Iphofer Kronsberg Silvaner; 2005 Veenwouden Merlot, Paarl; 2002 Château Belgrave; 2006 Château de la Peyrade Muscat de Frontignan, France; 2005 Artesa Carneros Chardonnay; 2007 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Trocken; 2008 Sonnenwind Riesling Spätlese Trocken; 2008 Red Diamond Chardonnay;

2005 Château Barreyres, Cru Bourgeois, Bordeaux, Haut-Médoc; 2006 Quinta do Gradil (Dry); 2005 Kanonkop Pinotage, Stellenbosch; 2008 Semper Vivum Riesling Spätlese Trocken; 2007 Francis Coppola Director's Cut Chardonnay; 2009 Leyda Vineyard Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc; 2005 Quinta das Tecedeiras Douro Reserva; 2002 Château Belgrave Cru Classe; 2005 Tokaija Edes Late Harvest, Oremus, Ungarn.

Open Skies (British Airways)
•Premium Class Lanson Brut Black Label; Laurent Perrier Brut LP; 2004 Château L'Argilus du Roi (Saint-Estephe); 2007 Francois Lurton Malbec, Tierra de Luna, Alta Coleccion; 2005 Château Seguin, Pessac Leognan; 2007 Joseph Mellot Sancerre; 2007 Château Corton André Bourgogne Chardonnay; 2005 Château Le Bonnat Graves.

Quantas
•Coach Jacob's Creek Brut Cuvée; 2009 Oakridge Over the Shoulder Chardonnay; 2008 MadFish Premium White; 2009 Primo Estate La Biondina Colombard-Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 St Hallett Poacher's Blend Semillon Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Viognier; 2008 St Hallett Gamekeepers Reserve Shiraz Grenache; 2008 Fox Creek Red Baron Shiraz; 2007 Barwang Cafe Series Cabernet Merlot; 2008 Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Cabernet Merlot Shiraz; 2008 Ferngrove Merlot; 2008 O'Leary Walker Adelaide Hills Chardonnay.

•Premium Class 1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne; Charles Heidsieck Brut; 2004 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon; 2009 Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc; 2008 Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc; 2004 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon; 2008 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling; 2005 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay; 2003 Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon; 2007 Paringa Estate Pinot Noir;

2005 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier; 2006 Frogmore Creek Pinot Noir; 2007 Howard Park Sauvignon Blanc; 2004 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz; 2004 Jacob's Creek St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon; 2005 Stonier Reserve Chardonnay; 2008 Rochford Pinot Gris; 2007 Coriole Vineyards Shiraz; 2007 Yalumba Eden Valley Chardonnay; 2006 Yalumba Barossa (Tempranillo-Grenache-Viognier); 2005 Barossa Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Riesling; 2005 St Hallett Shiraz, Barossa, Blackwell.

Singapore
•Coach 2007 Paul Mas Cabernet de Cabernet; 2007 Paul Mas Chardonnay 2007; 2007 Mosel Riesling.
•Premium Class 2000 Dom Pérignon champagne; Krug Grand Cuvée; Charles Heidsieck; 2007 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc; Clos du Bois Calcaire; 2001 Château Poyferre Bordeaux; 2006 Château Patache D'Aux; 2005 Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Rive Barbera D'Asti; Dow's 20-Year-Old Port; 2003 Graham's Port; 2006 Geyser Peak Chardonnay; 2006 Villa Franz Hattenheimer Riesling.

Virgin Atlantic
•Coach 2008 Marques de Caza Airen; 2008 Marques de Caza Tempranillo.
•Premium Class Champagne Pannier; Berrys' Extra Dry; Blanquette de Limoux; 2008 Doria Sauvignon Blanc VdP; 2008 Inspired Semillon/Chardonnay; 2008 Monte da Casta Ribatejo; 2007 Cocoa Hill Red; 2006 Le Petit Chapoton; 2004 Gran Marqués Reserva, Terra Alta; 2008 Marques de Caza Airen; 2008 Marques de Caza Tempranillo; 2008 Tres Olmos Verdejo; 2009 Du Toitskloof Chenin Blanc; 2009 Don Victor Chardonnay Reserva; 2007 Mountain View Merlot; 2008 Camparrón Selección, Toro; 2008 Michel Lynch Bordeaux.

West Jet
•Coach 2007 Lindemans Bin 40 Merlot; 2007 Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay.
Note: Airlines may use "economy" or another word for coach class. Premium class represents business and/or first class.

Union Members Seek Federal Probe

Exclusive To the Crew Report Blog

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents flight attendants from American Airlines (AMR) convened last week to remove the voting rights of its laid off workers. The Constitutional referendum, if approved, would require those on furlough to begin paying union dues or risk having their voting rights extinguished.

The move comes during the union's heated negotiations with American Airlines amid fears its laid off workers would vote against a tentative agreement in retaliation for having their seniority stripped from them. The laid off workers are comprised entirely of former Trans World Airlines (TWA) flight attendants who lost their seniority and placed on the bottom of the seniority list by the union, APFA, in 2001, after American acquired TWA.

Robert Applegate, a former contract negotiator for the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and past Business Agent for the International Association of Machinists (IAM) who is currently furloughed from the airline, blasted the union's actions.

"It has taken decades to cultivate union democracy in this country and only one rogue union to set it back light years. APFA has now embraced retaliation, in exchange, for monetary gain; a contract. APFA has taken (former TWA) seniority, jobs and now disguised as a dues assessment, the intent to take away the most valuable thing a man or woman can have: the right to vote." Applegate stated.

The former TWA flight attendants have asked the Department of Labor to investigate the matter and exercise the agency's authority to safeguard the workers against retaliation, improper discipline and dues assessment, a protection afforded by the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959.

Trouble Brews for Yank Pilots Across Pond
Ted Reed
11/12/09 - 08:53 AM EST

LONDON (TheStreet) -- U.S. pilots need to think twice about kicking back a few beers -- make that even one -- in jolly old England.

"Did you know that the aviation blood alcohol limits in Great Britain are one half of what the limits are in the US?" the U.S. Airline Pilots Association asked last month, in an email to its 5,200 members.

While the Federal Aviation Administration prohibits flying by a pilot whose blood alcohol concentration is at or above 0.04, the standard in Great Britain is roughly half that.
USAPA, which represents pilots at US Airways(LCC Quote), warned members to "use extreme caution" when overnighting in England, because the country has tougher aviation blood alcohol limits than the U.S. does.

A United(UAUA Quote) pilot learned about this difference first hand when he was arrested at London's Heathrow International Airport Monday after failing a breath test.

The pilot, Erwin Vermont Washington, 51, was arrested after a United employee reported him to the authorities, a spokeswoman for BAA Airports Ltd., Heathrow's operator, told The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear how much alcohol he had consumed.

Specifically, British law prohibits pilots from having more than 20 micrograms of alcohol for each 100 milliliters of blood in their system, or .02%. For an average-sized man, that is equivalent to about a half glass of beer.

A similar incident involving a pilot for American(AMR Quote) occurred in May. The pilot, Capt. Joseph Crites, 57, arrived for his flight aboard a Boeing 777 with alcohol on his breath as he was about to fly to Chicago. His blood-alcohol level was found to be twice the legal limit, and he was arrested.

In an October court hearing, the pilot said that he had had a few drinks with dinner the night before reporting for duty, according to The London Daily Mail. His lawyer told the court: "He did have some drinks, but the only thing he can suggest to explain this is that he had some unfamiliar beers, which were stronger than those he was used to." The pilot was fined and lost his job.

It was the American incident that prompted USAPA to warn its members about the law in Great Britain. USAPA's email also included these points: "British security screeners are not only trained but are required to report any suspicious behavior. You can be prosecuted for violating British law. Convictions can result in heavy fines and/or prison time. Failure to submit to a breathalyzer test will result in your immediate arrest. Think before you drink."

In the United case, passengers had boarded Chicago-bound United Flight 949, a Boeing 767 that was preparing for departure when the arrest was made.

"Safety is our highest priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are cooperating with authorities and conducting a full investigation," the airline said in a statement. "United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for violation of this well-established policy."

A spokesman for the United chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association declined to comment.
Last month, two Northwest pilots, Capt. Timothy B. Cheney, 53, and First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, overflew the Minneapolis airport in an Airbus A320. The National Transportation Safety Board said the two had lost track of time because they were using personal laptop reporters while discussing a new crew flight-scheduling system.

In that case, Lee Moak, chairman of the ALPA chapter at Delta(DAL Quote), went to bat for the pilots, defending their right to due process. Moak said the NTSB had committed a breach of trust by prematurely releasing self-disclosed information.

Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, says the series of incidents involving pilots is not random. "We have begun a long slide in terms of professionalism in the industry," he said. "This industry and its workers have been pushed to the limits, and I think they are a little ragged at the edges.

"You have an industry of professional pilots whose pay had been cut, their work hours extended and their pensions slashed in many cases," he said. "They are demoralized. They tell their kids not to come into the profession."

Mitchell said he will propose a solution Thursday when he appears on a panel at a U.S. Transportation Department forum on the state of the industry. "We have to put together a coherent national air travel policy instead of the patchwork we have now, overseen by Congress, the FAA and others," he said. "If we had a national transportation policy, the red flags would come up before there are incidents.

-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C. .

Furloughed ex-TWA flight attendants fight proposal to make them pay dues

by Terry Maxon Dallas Morning News

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American Airlines employees, is proposing a constitutional amendment that has outraged its members who formerly worked for Trans World Airlines.

APFA board members this week approved an amendment that would assess dues on all members if they want to remain in good standing and have the right to vote. Furloughed members or members on leaves currently don't have to pay dues.

Roger Graham, a furloughed ex-TWA flight attendant who is helping lead the fight against the dues changes, called the proposal "in a word, despicable."

He said the amendment is aimed directly at the ex-TWA flight attendants, since all 1,200 flight attendants currently on furlough are ex-TWA employees. They joined American when the airline bought Trans World Airlines' assets and hired its people in April 2001.

"We're the only group that it's going to hurt because we're the only ones that are indeed furloughed," Graham said.

APFA president Laura Glading denied that the dues proposal targets anyone. The union just has a lot of members who aren't working or paying dues, around 2,400 as of Dec. 1, and the union needs the money.

"We have no intention of harming anyone," she said. "It's just a matter of running an efficient union. You don't have to pay dues when you're on leave or on furlough if you choose not to. But you cannot vote."

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American Airlines employees, is proposing a constitutional amendment that has outraged its members who formerly worked for Trans World Airlines.

APFA board members this week approved an amendment that would assess dues on all members if they want to remain in good standing and have the right to vote. Furloughed members or members on leaves currently don't have to pay dues.

Roger Graham, a furloughed ex-TWA flight attendant who is helping lead the fight against the dues changes, called the proposal "in a word, despicable."

He said the amendment is aimed directly at the ex-TWA flight attendants, since all 1,200 flight attendants currently on furlough are ex-TWA employees. They joined American when the airline bought Trans World Airlines' assets and hired its people in April 2001.

"We're the only group that it's going to hurt because we're the only ones that are indeed furloughed," Graham said.

APFA president Laura Glading denied that the dues proposal targets anyone. The union just has a lot of members who aren't working or paying dues, around 2,400 as of Dec. 1, and the union needs the money.

"We have no intention of harming anyone," she said. "It's just a matter of running an efficient union. You don't have to pay dues when you're on leave or on furlough if you choose not to. But you cannot vote."

Here's where it gets complicated. There's a group called the Coalition for Union Principles, comprised of retired and furloughed TWA flight attendants, who have threatened to work American Airlines flights during any APFA work stoppage.

CUP is unhappy that the ex-TWA flight attendants all got lower seniority than all American Airlines flight attendants who had been hired prior to the TWA acquisition. You've got 40-year TWA flight attendants with less seniority than flight attendants hired by American in 2001.

Right now, about 1,200 flight attendants are furloughed, all ex-TWA. The rest of the approximately 4,000 ex-TWA attendants were furloughed years ago and have fallen off the recall list.

The 2003 APFA contract with American said that furloughed flight attendants would lose their right to recalled after they had been on furlough five years. A bunch fell off the recall list as a result.

Because of pressure from the ex-TWA flight attendants, the airline agreed several years ago to extend recall rights. But all employees who had already fallen off the recall list were gone forever.

The Coalition for Union Principles is continuing its fight to get APFA to change the way it merged the seniority lists of TWA and American flight attendants, the method that put all TWA members at the bottom.

Graham, who calls CUP "a rogue group of former TWA employees," said the coalition's actions have created a lot of animosity among APFA leaders, and the dues proposal is to keep the ex-TWA people from voting on any contract proposal.

The question of voting rights is important because the APFA is making a big push to get a tentative agreement by early 2010. Any deal would have to be approved by APFA members.

The NMB and American Airlines are very concerned that even if the union and airline reached agreement, "the TWA bloc vote would shoot it down," Graham said. "They [union leaders] intend to change the definition of union member in good standing to disguise the retaliation of a dues assessment which will be imposed to rid the TWA flight attendants of their voting rights."

Would the ex-TWA employees vote against a proposed contract?

"I can't guess or estimate," Graham said. "You know, it just depends on the contract all around. If there are things in there like an unlimited recall extension, things that would benefit everybody... But the union is determined to get a contract through and they're very concerned about the bloc vote."

Glading said the proposal is not a reaction to any group or threat to vote against a contract or work during a strike.

The union has set a goal to get a new contract with American sometime in January. If not, it wants the National Mediation Board to release the union from federal mediation and allow it to start job actions like strikes.

Glading said the dues proposal probably won't be voted on by members until December. If it is in effect by Jan 1, members can be delinquent 60 days before they'd lose their voting rights. The union would like to have a contract proposal out for a vote before that 60 days goes by. That means everybody would be able to vote on a proposed deal, whether they paid dues or not.
However, if the union does not wrap up a deal quickly, the people on leave or furlough would have to start dues if they want to retain their voting rights.

On Thursday, Graham asked the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate the APFA's actions, and he and associates are talking to lawmakers about getting involved.

"It has taken decades to cultivate union democracy in this country and only one rogue union to set it back light years," fellow furloughee Robert Applegate, a former contract negotiator for the Association of Flight Attendants and past business agent for the International Association of Machinists, said in a statement.

"They have now embraced upon corruption, in exchange, for monetary gain. They have taken their seniority, their jobs and now disguised as a dues assessment intend to take away the most valuable thing a man or woman can have - the right to vote," he said.

Airlines: Some Costs They Can't - And Shouldn't
by: Robert Herbst October 31, 2009

Today, like most every day, just over 44,000 of the world's most experienced airline pilots employed by the 9 largest airlines in the United States will accept full responsibility for over 1.5 million lives sitting on the other side of their locked cockpit doors. Over the next 24 hours, these pilots will make over 13,500 take-offs literally around the world. Through every imaginable type of weather, they will be in command of over 36,000 hours of flight time. And, if today is like most days, you will never hear or read about even one of those flights.

There is a perception that salaries are an important key to discretionary cost-cutting by the airlines. Charts below attempt to put that information in perspective as regards pilots.
So what does it really take to be a commercial pilot?

First, similar to a doctor taking years to get qualified in the operating room, there are no 'entry level' pilot jobs at the major airlines. Before being hired by a major airline a commercial pilot will likely have a college degree and either been trained as a pilot in the military or have spent several years acquiring thousands of flight hours experience on smaller aircraft.

Fully depending on the airline’s growth, it could take as many as 20+ years to move from a co-pilot to captain.

Airline pilot wages, benefits and working schedules are based on company seniority. If a pilot leaves one airline he/she will start at the bottom of the next airline’s seniority list as a new hire.

Once hired by a major airline, regardless of prior experience, a pilot goes through several weeks of training and testing before being qualified on that airline’s specific aircraft operations. Every time he or she moves to a different type of aircraft or moves from co-pilot to captain he will again require more weeks of training and testing.

Pilots have to pass a medical check every six months with an annual EKG required as they get older. Due to very stringent medical requirements, approximately 15% of airline pilots are forced to retire before they reach their mandatory retirement age.

The FAA has strict limits on the maximum number of hours pilots are allowed to fly: The maximums are 1,000 in a year, 100 in a month and 30-32 in 7 days (international flight limits are slightly higher than domestic). In order to actually get an hour of flight time, depending on your seniority and the airline’s schedule, you can expect to be away from your base from two to four times actual flight hours. For the most part, a pilot only gets paid when the aircraft is moving. (Note: Pilots do not get premium pay for working holidays or weekends.)

What is a pilot worth?
Actually the important question should be: In the future, is the job going to be worth it for those individuals you want and expect to be responsible for so much?

Since 9/11 and the bankruptcy or reorganization of every legacy airline, pilot hourly pay rates have been reduced to what they were almost 20 years ago. In addition, work rule changes force pilots to work more and longer days than they ever have. Pilots from United (UAL), Delta (DAL), Northwest (now merged with Delta) and USAir (LCC) all lost significant amounts of their pensions as those airlines went through bankruptcy after 9/11.

Recognizing the above, how much of the average passenger airline ticket fare is now used to pay pilots to accept the responsibility they do? Not very much!

Since 9/11, United, Delta, Northwest and USAir filed bankruptcy. American (AMR) and Continental (CAL) reorganized outside of bankruptcy in 2003.

In the past seven years, while inflation increased by 20%, the average hourly cockpit wage cost for the average passenger fare dropped by 29%.

When comparing year 2008 with 2002, Southwest (LUV) and JetBlue (JBLU) were the only two airlines that had their passenger fare ratio of cockpit wage costs increase. (In 2002, both of these airlines had the lowest fare ratios in the industry.) In figure 3 you can see how the average cockpit wage cost ratio of the average passenger fare per hour of flight changed for each selected airline since year 2002.

As you can see, on average, the coffee you purchased in the terminal before your flight cost more than what both pilots will earn from your passenger fare for each hour of flight they accept responsibility for your safety.

Whether it is in the operating room or an airline cockpit, if you want the “best” individuals there, you will have to provide the incentives to get them first.

The bottom line questions are: In the future, who do you want replacing these aging and very experienced veteran pilots? Is it worth a few dollars more to attract the “right stuff” to be responsible for such an important job?

Data source: SEC filings and BTS reports
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author and his family hold stock in AMR

Delta Flying Into Union Storm
By Ted Reed 10/07/09 - 04:16 PM EDT
ATLANTA (TheStreet) -- Delta(DAL Quote) is flying into the toughest, most crucial labor battles it has ever faced.

In October 2008, Delta merged with heavily unionized Northwest, bringing thousands of union members into the tent. The following month, Democrat Barack Obama was elected president, enabling him to alter the composition of the National Mediation Board, which oversees airline industry labor issues. Obviously, both events involve potential drawbacks for Delta.

Over the past few decades, unions have repeatedly made runs at Delta, an outlier in one of the country's most unionized industries. As an example, Northwest was 96% unionized at the time of the merger. At Delta, only pilots and dispatchers, or 15% of workers, are unionized.

Now, two of the airline industry's biggest unions, which for the moment continue to represent thousands of Northwest workers, are organizing at Delta and gearing up for a series of elections. The stakes are extraordinarily high, because if the unions lose, they not only fail to gain new members but also lose members they already have.

"If Delta is the largest airline in the world, then we are going to be the largest union at the largest airline in the world," says Robert Roach, general vice president of the International Association of Machinists. "With the support we have both from current Northwest members and from Delta employees who have shown interest in organizing, we think we have a good chance of winning these elections."

Unlike the IAM, the Association of Flight Attendants has a benchmark by which to gauge its prospects. It staged a union election at Delta in May and won support from about 5,300 of the 13,400 eligible flight attendants. "As in every organizing campaign, we built support and structure," says Ed Gilmartin, AFA general counsel. Now the list of eligible voters has expanded by about 7,000 Northwest flight attendants. "We are very optimistic," Gilmartin said.
Shares of Delta closed Wednesday at $8.28, down 17 cents.

It would be unwise, however, to underestimate Delta, which has been successfully executing its various strategies since entering bankruptcy in 2005. Before its Chapter 11 filing, Delta seemed bent on squandering the world's biggest hub in Atlanta on connections to Florida and a mystifying effort to match fares with low-cost competitor AirTran(AAI Quote).

But a restructured Delta utilizes its hubs to connect passengers to premium global destinations.
Delta did not rest on its laurels, but rather pursued a merger with Northwest, operator of a Tokyo hub that filled the biggest gap in its network. It enlisted its powerful pilots union as its chief ally, not only gaining support from a key constituency but also avoiding the pilot infighting that soured the 2005 merger of US Airways(LCC Quote) and America West.


Now Delta is betting that it retains enough of a genteel yet aggressively antiunion Southern culture to continue to ward off the labor movement. It is confident enough that Mike Campbell, executive vice president for human resources, is complaining of delays in the union representation voting, in effect telling unions to bring it on.

Union elections following an airline merger require the National Mediation Board to first declare that the airline has achieved "single carrier" status. In the case of the pilots, a joint request from the airline and the pilots for a ruling came quickly, in November 2008. But the other work groups have been slower.

The AFA filed July 27, while the IAM filed on Aug. 13 for fleet service workers, but has not yet filed for reservations agents and airport agents. Meanwhile, last month the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department wrote to the NMB, requesting a change in Railway Labor Act voting methodology, which requires that unions gain support from a majority of eligible voters, rather than a majority of actual voters, to win a union election.

It may be that consideration of the request is delaying action on the election filings, although it is impossible to know, given that the NMB has steadfastly declined to comment. Theoretically, the request could benefit from Obama's election, because Obama exercised his right to appoint a new Democratic member to the board, which historically has two members from the president's party and one from the opposition.

"There is no question that there is a delay going on," Campbell says. "The AFA filed for an election, admitted we are a single transportation system, and we agreed with them, and beyond that nothing has transpired before the agency." He said the delay restricts the ability of many flight attendants to benefit from their seniority in bidding for schedules they desire. Even if the NMB wants to change voting regulations, he says, the change "shouldn't apply to pending cases, filed under the current rules."

As for the IAM, Campbell says the union still has not filed for an election for airport and reservations agents, despite indicating in August that it was nearly ready to do so. Added Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin: "It doesn't make sense that the agents handling bags on the ramp are a single carrier but the agents putting the bags on the belt at the ticket counter are not." But Roach says that Delta has not reached single carrier status in regard to its agents because "a lot of computer systems are not merged."

Gilmartin says he doesn't believe the NMB is stalling. When Delta and the pilots filed on Nov. 4, he said, it took two months for approval, even though no disagreement was involved. Flight attendants filed 10 weeks ago. "By board standards, considering all of their workload, it's not long," he says. "But everybody has to wait their turn."


Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte,

BA cuts 1,000 jobs, will shrink Heathrow crews
British Airways says it is shedding 1,000 jobs, will reduce size of cabin crews at Heathrow
By Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer

On Tuesday October 6, 2009, 2:21 pm EDT

LONDON (AP) -- British Airways PLC is shedding 1,000 jobs, putting 3,000 more employees on part-time work and reducing the size of cabin crews at Heathrow in an effort to get the troubled airline's finances back in order, a spokesman said Tuesday.

BA spokesman Paul Marston said the company was in "a very serious financial position" and was working hard to turn itself around with an aggressive cost-reduction program. The job losses and part-time work, which he said were voluntary, would be the equivalent of cutting 1,700 positions.

Marston said BA, which expects to see a "significant loss" for the second year running, needed the cuts in order to secure its future in an airline market which is likely to remain grim for some time.

"We do not see any green shoots of recovery just right yet," he said.

Marston also announced a companywide freeze on basic pay and said cabin crews operating out of London's Heathrow Airport would be downsized -- so that the typical 747 jet flying from London's Heathrow Airport on a long-haul trip would take off carrying 14 members of crew instead of the usual complement of 15.

Marston said customers weren't likely to notice the difference. He added that changes would come into effect in the middle of November. He declined to say how much money BA hoped to save from cuts.

The job cuts and pay freeze have been discussed with staff for months, but negotiations with the unions have been deadlocked and BA said it needed to move now to ensure the company stayed alive.

"Without changes, we will lose more money with every month that passes," a company statement said. "It is essential we make ourselves more efficient if we are to ensure our long-term survival."

The airline added that it was "not altering anything that requires negotiation."

A call seeking comment from UNITE, Britain's biggest union, was not immediately returned.
The economic downturn has hit carriers like BA particularly hard as individual travelers and companies balk at paying for a seat in first or business class, particularly on short-haul flights. The airline posted a 94 million pound ($150 million) quarterly loss in July. Earlier that month, the airline announced plans to raise 600 million pounds to help it plug its deficits and convinced pilots at the airline to agree to a 2.6 percent pay cut.

U.S. airlines have also suffered amid the souring economy, higher fuel prices, and other issues.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline operator, said in June that its staff levels would be down more than 8,000 jobs by the end of 2009 compared to spring 2008.

Associated Press Airlines Writer Harry R. Weber contributed to this report from Atlanta.

Flight attendants often deal with passengers' medical needs
By Charisse Jones, USA TODAY

Roy Harris usually was able to fly straight home to Nashville.

But on a chilly day in late January, Harris, 57, found himself waiting for a connecting flight at Chicago's Midway Airport. He took off his coat. He reached for his BlackBerry.

The next thing Harris remembers, he was lying in a hospital, recovering from a massive heart attack. Sitting beside him was Rachael Jacobs, a flight attendant for Southwest (LUV), who, back at Midway, called for the defibrillator that ultimately saved Harris' life.

"I wake up and … the first person I see is this flight attendant," says Harris, a minister. "If it hadn't been for Rachael, I wouldn't be alive."

Though the public too often thinks their chief duties are to find pillows and ferry soft drinks, the primary duty of the nation's more than 90,000 flight attendants is to ensure the safety, health and well-being of passengers. With up to 2 million people on roughly 25,000 domestic flights daily, an attendant somewhere in the skies over the USA is dealing with an incident each day. Many can be matters of life and death. And their responses are often heroic.

"I would say we have medical events every day, pretty much around the clock," says Dr. Thomas Bettes, corporate medical director for American Airlines, who estimates that his airline deals with roughly 20 to 25 life-threatening incidents a year. Neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the Association of Flight Attendants has statistics on the number of medical emergencies that take place in-flight. But the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association estimates that more than 400 lives have been saved by automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, on U.S. carriers in the past decade.

The most extraordinary lifesaving events make headlines. In January, the nation heralded the heroism of the three US Airways flight attendants who led 150 passengers to safety after Captain Chesley Sullenberger landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River.

Yet, more often than the public may know, attendants are called on to save a choking child, to resuscitate a passenger with a failing heart or to evacuate a plane forced to make an emergency landing. They can be called on before even getting on the plane to assist a passenger who falls ill in a lounge or near the gate.

Though their training programs may vary, all airlines must meet FAA guidelines that require flight attendants to be instructed in CPR and first aid.

Each year, they undergo retraining to demonstrate knowledge and skills in a range of tasks, from containing a fire in the cabin to getting passengers off a plane that has to land or "ditch" in water, says Corey Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants.

And since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, surveillance and self-defense have taken on greater emphasis, as flight attendants look out for passengers who may be a threat and identify those who can help in an emergency.

"The customer service angle is part of the job, but just a small part," Caldwell says. "When a flight attendant is actually called upon to serve the safety and security function that they have trained so long for, often it's in a heroic situation."

Quick action
The day started quietly at New York's JFK airport, Jodi Teitelman remembers. Teitelman, a flight attendant for American Airlines, was taking tickets from travelers boarding a Los Angeles-bound flight when a passenger suddenly rushed over and said a woman in the lounge had become ill.

Teitelman, 36, found Anna Tortorici, a grandmother, slumped over, unconscious. With the help of some passengers, Teitelman lay Tortorici on the floor, then ran onto the plane to retrieve the AED and emergency kit.

It was the first time Teitelman used the heart-jolting device on a passenger.

"It was … surreal," she says of that day in October 2006.

In April 2001, the FAA required U.S. airlines to equip all domestic and international flights with AEDs within three years. As with CPR, instruction on how to use the devices became mandatory for flight attendants and is reinforced regularly. American Airlines put the devices on board in 1997, the first U.S. carrier to do so. Since then, the device has monitored or been used on more than 1,900 people, and has saved 86 lives, according to Bettes.

Tortorici, now 78, is among them. She and her husband, Larry, were returning to their home in Woburn, Mass., from a 50th anniversary cruise in Hawaii. After going through customs at JFK, she briefly lost sight of her husband and became anxious.

She sat down, and, "I guess my heart stopped beating," she says.

Teitelman placed the defibrillator on Tortorici's chest. After a single jolt, Tortorici began to breathe on her own and thrash about. Paramedics soon arrived, taking her to the hospital. She later had a pacemaker and defibrillator placed in her chest.

"Of course, I'm grateful to her," Tortorici says.

In the early days of commercial aviation, the medical function of flight attendants was so front and center that they were required to be medical professionals.

"In the '40s and '50s, to get a job as a flight attendant, you had to be a registered nurse," Caldwell says. Passengers often got air sick in unpressurized cabins.

The stereotype of flight attendants as waitresses or waiters in the sky came later. In the 1960s, airlines began emphasizing their service function as a marketing tool, though they always focused first on safety. "The role has never changed," Caldwell says.

Robert Putman, 52, has been a flight attendant for roughly 20 years. In that time, he has dealt with passengers who've had medical situations ranging from anxiety attacks to strokes.
Most recently, in February, he performed CPR on a man who had stopped breathing on an American Airlines (AMR) flight from Tampa to Dallas/Fort Worth.

Putman says that he's well-versed in what a medical crisis requires, from alerting the pilot, to asking if there's a medical professional on board, to practicing the mantra "look, listen and feel" when evaluating a sick passenger.

"We're taught to do things," Putman says, "and rarely do we deviate."

Unscheduled landing
Occasionally, a medical emergency is serious enough that a flight has to be diverted to the closest airport.

That was the case in May for Virgin America Flight 67, on its way from Washington's Dulles airport to San Francisco.

A passenger felt sick, briefly passing out. Flight attendant Darryl Gregory, 45, alerted the plane's pilot and went on the intercom to ask if there was a medical professional on board. Meanwhile, another crewmember retrieved a container of oxygen.

Donald Olsen, the plane's captain, began communicating with MedLink, a service that allows the flight team to get guidance from physicians on the ground, and the airline's dispatch center.
"When you get on a plane, you don't know an hour into your flight someone is going to have a heart attack," says Olsen, 43. "That's when the teamwork comes into play, because there're so many things to do, so many questions to be answered."

A physician on board came forward. But two hours away from landing in San Francisco, the passenger had already used three bottles of oxygen. Following doctors' advice, Olsen decided to land in Denver.

Watching the crew handle a medical crisis can soothe the fears of other passengers.

Ravi Poorsina, 31, who was returning home to Walnut Creek, Calif., from a business meeting in Washington, D.C., says that she was initially worried the sick passenger could not get the help he needed in the air. But she soon learned he was well cared for.

"I guess it made me feel slightly more reassured," she said in an e-mail. "To know that the pilots and flight attendants are well trained and experienced is a good thing. You are not alone up there, and that becomes very clear in an emergency situation."

She also got a better grasp on the role flight attendants play. "It made me understand a little more the pressure they are under, and how tough it must be to keep a smile on your face."
In Denver, the sick passenger, whom the airline did not identify, was able to walk off the plane, Gregory says.

He admits such incidents are frightening for him as well as for the passengers. When he started out, "one of my biggest fears was … all the training I got, would it kick in when it's supposed to?" he says.

Each time, Gregory says, it has.

Sharing a moment
Rachael Jacobs did not think she had saved Roy Harris' life.

She knew she had tried. Jacobs was living in Chicago and waiting for a flight home to visit her family in Nashville in January.

Suddenly, someone said a man was sick. Jacobs found Harris foaming at the mouth, suffering an apparent seizure.

Not knowing if he was having a diabetic reaction or a problem with his heart, Jacobs yelled for oxygen, an emergency kit and an AED. A nurse and doctor who were in the area jolted Harris with the AED. Paramedics eventually arrived.

But Jacobs thought Harris would die. She grabbed a cab and followed him to the hospital.

'Miracle in Chicago'
"I knew he was somebody's somebody, and he didn't deserve to be by himself," she says. "And so I just got in that taxi and went." Jacobs stayed with Harris for eight hours. He eventually had quadruple-bypass surgery.

Since then, Harris has given speeches about what he calls "the miracle in Chicago." And Jacobs has become a close friend.

"I think you're forever connected by a life-saving event," Harris says. "She's a real hero."
In some ways, for Jacobs, it was all in a day's work. Still, "I didn't do this to be a good Southwest employee," she says. "My heart told me which way to go, and I just followed."

5 Tips on How to Avoid Germs on Planes
How to Keep You and Your Family Healthy While Traveling
By LISA STARK and SHEILA EVANS
Sept. 17, 2009

A two-day meeting beginning today at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., will examine how diseases spread on planes and in airports.

With the spread of the H1N1 virus, airlines have taken notice and stocked up on supplies such as gloves, masks and alcohol wipes and increased their cleanings. Although they are preparing themselves for a flu outbreak, airlines insist that it is still safe to fly.

"Going on a plane is no less safe than going to church, going to work, going to school," said AirTran spokesman Christopher White.

The airflow systems in planes are designed to help minimize the risk of the H1N1 flu spreading because the air flows across the rows of seats instead of front to back. It is continually exchanged with a combination of fresh air and recirculated air that usually passes through a series of filters.

"One of the most persistent myths is that everybody on the plane is breathing the same air and that germs just endlessly recirculate within the cabin. In fact, air on the airplane is probably cleaner than in most indoor spaces," said Katherine Andrus, assistant general counsel for the Air Transport Association.

Yet passengers are still confined to an enclosed space where contagious diseases could spread. James Bennett, a research engineer for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, completed a study of how contaminants move inside a plane.

"Contaminants, such as the small droplets emitted by a cough, do move to other areas of the cabin," Bennett said.

According to Bennett's research, within seconds of one person coughing the droplets have spread outward and nearby passengers get the biggest dose. After 15 minutes those particles could have traveled as far as 10 rows away.

Although exposure does not mean you will get sick, some passengers aren't taking any chances.
"I always have hand sanitizer with me and I always wipe that on me and on surfaces that [my son's] touching a lot," said Sarah Smith, who was travelling with her toddler.

5 Tips on How to Stay Healthy In the Air

Here are five tips from ABC News chief medical editor Dr. Tim Johnson on how to cut down on exposure and help keep you and your family healthy while traveling. If the person next to you is coughing or sneezing, ask to switch seats. It might not always be possible, but it's worth asking.

• Bring along a face mask.
• Bring alcohol-based hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes.
• "Constantly wash your hands," Johnson said, but not in the airplane's bathroom. "Those surfaces are typically going to be contaminated."
• Bring your own pillow and blanket.
• Drink bottled water. "Bring along water and hydrate yourself," Johnson said, because it will make you "less susceptible to viral infections in general." It's also helpful because airplane air is very dry and dehydrating.

"Mostly be alert to people who might be sick and really isolate yourself," Johnson said, "or insist they be isolated."

And if you're the one who is feeling under the weather, do your fellow travelers a favor and stay home.

Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures

Bumped Passengers Learn a Cruel Flying Lesson
By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

Air travel has gotten a lot bumpier this year -- on the ground.

Passengers are getting bumped from flights at the highest rate in at least 14 years, even though the U.S. Department of Transportation last year doubled the penalties airlines have to pay passengers who have tickets but are denied seats. Among the reasons: Passengers are more reluctant to voluntarily give up seats when flights are oversold for fear of being stranded for a day or two. And some airlines have made their vouchers less generous to save money.

Bumping is still relatively rare, affecting fewer than two passengers out of every 10,000. But the rate at which passengers were bumped in the second quarter skyrocketed 40% compared with a year ago, and airlines say the higher rate will likely continue.

As carriers have slashed capacity, grounding airplanes and cutting flights from schedules, they have packed more people into their remaining flights -- sometimes too many people.

"It's pretty simple: It's just because planes are more full than last year," says Tom Trenga, vice president of revenue management at US Airways Group Inc., which had the highest bumping rate among major airlines, at 1.88 passengers per 10,000 in the second quarter.

This summer, the nine major airlines filled 85.5% of their seats, up from 84.1% last summer. The peak was July, with 86.7% of seats filled. This fall, airlines are aggressively cutting back capacity even further, worried that continued weak business travel could cripple them financially.


Is Bumping Passengers From Flights Right?

That means increased bumping will continue, Mr. Trenga says, until airlines see enough of a pickup in demand to begin bringing flights back into schedules, easing the logjam.
In the second quarter, the most recent reported by the DOT, 20,916 passengers, or 1.39 for every 10,000, were involuntarily denied boarding at major and regional airlines, up from 15,119, or 1.0 per 10,000, in the same period of 2008. (Ten times as many people gave up their seats voluntarily in return for airline vouchers toward future trips.)

If you do get bumped, you are entitled to cash compensation under the DOT's penalty rules, though the airline will likely offer you vouchers. You can insist that the airline pay you on the spot. Do it. Vouchers can have blackout dates, require you to purchase higher fares to use the voucher or even require you to cash in the voucher and buy a ticket in person at an airport rather than booking online.

Desperate for Revenue
Federal rules allow airlines to sell more tickets than there are seats on a plane because customers occasionally change flights or don't show up. Carriers have to balance the cost of compensating customers who get bumped with the cost of having an empty seat when a ticket could have been sold. With the economic downturn, airlines are desperate for any revenue and may be willing to take on more overbooking risk.

Several airlines say they have bumped more people from flights because they have had a harder time getting travelers to voluntarily give up seats. Because flights have been so full, a passenger who gives up a seat voluntarily in return for a voucher toward a future trip may have to wait a day or more to get a seat on another flight.

That means airlines end up refusing boarding to more ticketed passengers, Mr. Trenga says.
In addition, airlines often place heavy restrictions on vouchers. Sometimes vouchers worth $100 or $200 off a ticket can't be applied to the airline's cheapest fares, for example, or they have blackout dates or require customers to buy tickets in person at an airport instead of online.
Alaska Airlines, a unit of Alaska Air Group Inc., tried to cut the value of vouchers in December and saw the rate at which it bumped passengers soar 269% in the second quarter to 1.66 per 10,000, from 0.45 per 10,000 in the same period of 2008.

Before the change, Alaska and its Horizon Air regional-airline unit gave a free ticket to anyone voluntarily giving up a seat when a flight was oversold. But Alaska switched to a two-tier voucher system passengers got a $200 voucher to apply to a future ticket for giving up a seat on a shorter flight and a $400 voucher for a longer flight.

"The perception among those customers on shorter flights was that $200 wasn't enough to offer up their seats as a volunteer," a spokeswoman says. In June, Alaska upped the offer for volunteers on shorter flights to a $300 voucher, "and we've seen a steady decline in the number of involuntary denied boardings since," she says.

UAL Corp.'s United Airlines saw its bumped-passenger rate climb 73% this year to 1.71 passengers per 10,000, second only to US Airways. United says bumping increased because a greater number of leisure passengers have been filling planes than in the past as a result of the downturn in business travel. "They show up for their flight much more often than a business traveler typically does," a spokeswoman says. "As a result, we had fewer no-shows than what we typically see."

The DOT says it isn't concerned about the rise in bumping because the rates are still lower than historical highs. During the 1970s and 1980s, bumping rates were routinely four times as high as today's rate.

Penalties Doubled
Still, the agency doubled compensation penalties for denied boarding last year, the first change in 30 years.

Passengers who are involuntarily bumped will receive compensation equal to their one-way fare up to $400 if they are rescheduled to reach their destination within two hours of their original arrival time for domestic flights and four hours for international flights. The mandatory compensation, depending on ticket price, doubles to $800 if passengers reach their destination later than the two-or four-hour limits.

The best way to avoid getting bumped from a flight is to buy tickets only for flights on which you can reserve a seat and to print your boarding pass early to lay claim to that seat. Passengers should be especially vigilant with regional airlines, which generally have the highest bumping rates in the industry.

And if you're not in a hurry and want to game the system--as many passengers do--you should book flights with few open seats at peak travel hours and tell gate agents early that you are willing to give up your seat if volunteers are needed. For some passengers, vouchers can cut the cost of future trips dramatically. Just make sure you know what you are getting from the airline, what strings are attached, and when your next flight out will be.

Write to Scott McCartney at middleseat@wsj.com

British Airways May Join JAL Pursuit
09/15/09 - 03:13 PM EDT

DALLAS (TheStreet) -- As a strongly motivated AMR(AMR Quote) battles to ensure its continued partnership with Japan Air Lines, other partners in the Oneworld alliance are also considering investment in JAL.

Both British Airways and the Australian carrier Qantas are potential investors, said a person who is familiar with the negotiations between AMR's American Airlines and JAL.

In particular, British Airways is "deeply preoccupied" that JAL could partner with the SkyTeam alliance, which includes its rival AirFrance as well as Delta(DAL Quote), the person said, noting, "All of the members of Oneworld, led by American, are profoundly interested in intensifying the relationship with JAL.

"American is extraordinarily motivated to maintain a successful partnership with JAL that is more than 10 years old, to keep them in Oneworld and to move forward with more intensive joint operations," the person said. "American will always make an offer superior to whatever Delta wants to do." A British Airways spokeswoman declined to comment and a Qantas spokesperson was not immediately available.

Financially troubled JAL is seeking to restructure and to raise funding from banks, investment funds and others including airlines. It wants about $300 million to $500 million from an airline partner or partners, as a share of the $2.7 billion it reportedly needs. The airline investment is viewed as an industry vote of confidence that would inspire other investors to participate.
JAL has the largest hub at Tokyo Narita, Asia's key airport because of its importance to Japan and its web of connections throughout the continent.

FAA investigating American's MD-80 repairs

Federal regulators investigating American Airlines over repairs to MD-80 series jets
By David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer
On Friday September 4, 2009,

1:48 pm EDT DALLAS (AP) -- U.S. regulators are investigating American Airlines over structural repairs to its aging fleet of MD-80 series aircraft.

A Federal Aviation Administration official said Friday that the investigation centered on 16 planes.

The Wall Street Journal reported FAA officials suspect American rushed to retire one of the planes to keep it away from inspectors.

A spokesman for American denied the accusation and said mothballing the aircraft wouldn't let it escape FAA scrutiny.

"We retired the plane for economic reasons, tied to our decision several months ago to reduce capacity," spokesman Roger Frizzell told The Associated Press. "Any other assertion is incorrect and misleading."

FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford declined to say whether inspectors believed the airline had tried to hide the plane or whether they had examined it in the New Mexico desert, where it is now parked. He said inspectors examined "a number of planes."

Lunsford said the investigation centered on repairs to the rear bulkhead of the MD-80 series aircraft. As of May, American had 270 MD-80 series jets, or 44 percent of its fleet, according to the company's Web site.

Fort Worth-based American, a unit of AMR Corp., is slowly replacing the MD-80s with new, more fuel-efficient planes while it reduces capacity, or the number of flights, to deal with a decline in air travel.

Airplanes expand and contract as the cabin is pressurized for flight and then depressurized. That can lead to metal fatigue that requires close monitoring and sometimes repairs, especially around the rear bulkhead.

Improper rear bulkhead repairs were blamed for the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 that killed 520 people, still the worst single accident in aviation history.

The Journal reported that FAA inspectors believe at least 16 American jets may have flown for months or years with improper fasteners and poorly done repairs to structural cracks.

American spokesman Tim Wagner said the airline discovered the potentially improper fasteners used on the MD-80 bulkheads and told the FAA, identifying each aircraft with the questionable parts.

FAA investigations can lead to exoneration of the carrier or, as in recent cases involving American and Southwest Airlines Co., penalties that run into the millions of dollars.
Shares of American parent AMR Corp. rose 10 cents to $5.59 in afternoon trading Friday.

American to cut 921 flight attendants' jobs, including 228 layoffs, others taking leave, (all furloughees are former TWA flight attendants, ed.)
By David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer
On Tuesday September 1, 2009, 6:13 pm EDT

DALLAS (AP) -- American Airlines is cutting 921 flight attendant jobs as it deals with an ongoing downturn in traffic and lower revenue.

The airline said Tuesday that the cuts will take effect Oct. 1 and reduce its flight-attendant ranks by about 6 percent.

American, the nation's second-largest airline, said 228 employees will be furloughed -- laid off but with rehiring rights -- and the company will put 244 more on leave for two months. Another 449 will take voluntary options such as leave.

Nearly half of the flight attendants to be furloughed are based at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
The airline said it planned to cut 1,200 flight attendant jobs but was able to reduce the number by adjusting staffing requirements for the winter.

The airline said in June that it would cut jobs as it reduced flights to meet lower travel demand.
American said Tuesday that of the 228 furloughs:

105 would be at LaGuardia

67 at Chicago's O'Hare Airport,

25 in Boston,

17 in St. Louis and

14 at Reagan National near Washington

The workers' union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said it had worked with the company to avoid even more layoffs by offering employees voluntary leave and the two-month forced absences.

"What was going to be 1,200 jobs lost has been limited to 228," said union President Laura Glading.

The 244 employees who will be placed on "involuntary overage leave" won't work in October and November, when air traffic is expected to be very weak. They will return to work in December, the union said.

While off the job for two months, those employees will have to pay for their own health insurance although they can get it at American's lower group rate, according to the airline.

Those on involuntary leave can apply for unemployment benefits without American contesting the claim, said American spokeswoman Missy Latham. The airline would contest a claim filed by someone who took voluntary leave, she said.

American has 14,936 active flight attendants, Latham said.

American's traffic plunged 10 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2008, as the recession grounded many travelers.

The airline's woes were compounded by a steep drop in high-paying business travelers. Second-quarter revenue at parent AMR Corp. tumbled 21 percent from a year ago.

Like other carriers, American has responded to declining traffic by cutting flights. American's capacity in the first six months of the year was nearly 8 percent lower than during the same time last year.

Airlines can cut capacity by operating fewer flights or using smaller aircraft that carry fewer passengers. With fewer flights, American doesn't need as many flight attendants, pilots and other workers.

Shares of Fort Worth-based AMR fell 23 cents, or 4.2 percent, to close at $5.23.