Aviation Unions And The Aviation Industry - Essay Example

The trip took about 20 minutes, and the one-way fare was $5. The service ceased at the end of Florida's winter tourist season, but it was the first such venture that indicated scheduled air service could be commercially viable. Similar passenger services in the United States and Europe soon followed. The world wars triggered great revolutions in aircraft's capability and use. At the end of the First World War enterprising commercial air carriers took advantage of the disabled ground transportation system and the large surplus of aircraft and pilots in Europe.

By 1930s government-sponsored airlines were operating well beyond Europe to the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and even Latin America. In the United Sates commercial aviation in the private sector was enabled by two historic laws in the mid-1920s: The technological impetus in aircraft capability and manufacturing capacity made enormous strides during World War II. At the end of the war all these efforts were directed towards commercial aviation. Governments around the world regulated the air transport industry primarily because of the nature of safety and security concerns involved.

In 1978 U S deregulated the aviation industry. This allowed air carriers to serve any domestic market and charge whatever they thought the market could bear. Airline deregulation was intended to foster competition in the air transport market and bring better service and lower costs. The air transport industry has grown enormously in the second half of the 20th century. The number of passengers worldwide grew from 177 million in 1965 to an estimated 3.3 billion in 2000. The number of U.S. airline passengers for the same period increased from 103 million in 1965 to an estimated 666 million in 2000.

Aviation industry experienced an upheaval after September 11. The world wide economic downturn had already affected the industry very badly and September 11 was the final nail on the coffin. With the sustainability of industry coming under strain new concepts of cooperation and understanding between airline companies started evolving. For airline carriers, deregulation created both opportunities and dangers. During the 1980s many new airlines were launched and most of them bombed when existing carriers intensified competition by expanding into markets they had not previously served.

Mergers and acquisitions followed as carriers vied for greater share of the pie. To retain profitability airlines resorted to the 'outsourcing mantra.' The savings achieved through outsourcing were very attractive to ignore. Therefore, outsourcing has become an accepted and established form of cost savings mechanism not only in aviation industry but in many other sectors also. Although the organized labor is generally against the concept of outsourcing, they are forced to accept it in the overall interest of the company's survival.

Professor Peter Turnbull (1) of Cardiff University Business School, who conducted a study on behalf of International Labor Organization, says that evidence suggests "the global economic slowdown was already