Hopes for a first-quarter launch of US Airways’ MidAtlantic division dimmed to a flicker last month as pilots continued their dispute over payscales for new Embraer 170 positions and management took steps to sell off assets to meet minimum federal loan requirements. As a result, more than a month after the FAA granted the 70-seat Embraer 170 provisional certification to ostensibly allow MidAtlantic to begin proving runs and crew training, the Pittsburgh-based division still hadn’t taken delivery of its first airplane, leaving everyone in the dark about when, if ever, the fledgling airline would get off the ground.
Still, by late last month, Embraer would not admit to any change in delivery plans. “There are apparently some internal issues, but our dialogue with US Airways does not indicate any lack of definition,” Embraer executive vice president Fred Curado told AIN. According to US Airways, the language in MidAtlantic’s labor contract calls for pay rates on par with those of American Eagle CRJ700 crews. ALPA claims the contract does not specify rates for airplanes certified to carry more than 70 seats, namely the Embraer 170. An ALPA spokesman told AIN that the dispute would go to arbitration, and that the union hoped for a resolution by early this month. But the pay issue doesn’t preclude US Airways from taking airplane deliveries for proving runs, rousing suspicion that the reason it hasn’t may run deeper than a labor disagreement.
