One US pilots union objected to the FTSE 250 company’s “established anti-union record, poor labour standards, questionable safety culture, the impact its foreign carrier permit would have on competition, and its issues with consumer access and protection”
An application by Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) to launch transatlantic charter flights have run into rough weather across the pond from major US carriers American Airlines and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV).
Pilot union Air Line Pilots Association and the Independent Pilots Association questioned whether the European low-cost carrier’s anti-union policies would endanger flight safety.
The FTSE 250 company has been revealed to have submitted an application to Washington to obtain an initial foreign air carrier permit to allow its first transatlantic flights.
It is being sought initially for the purposes of beginning cargo operations between Hungary and the US, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The Allied Pilots Association, the union representing American Airlines pilots, urged the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to deny Wizz Air’s application under reciprocal recognition procedures for US-EU, saying that the application’s current form was “procedurally and factually inadequate” regarding the details of the planned service.
Furthermore, the European budget carrier’s “established anti-union record, poor labour standards, questionable safety culture, the impact its foreign carrier permit would have on competition, and its issues with consumer access and protection” have been noted by the association, in their statement to the DOT.
As long as the application is not outrightly denied, the DOT should not expedite the approval but delay approval until Wizz Air meets the conditions required of all carriers operating international services in the US, the union’s note stated.
Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) pilots said Wizz’s application omitted “fundamental data,” including frequency of…