Mexican Airline in Chaos:FAA Downgrade, Flight Cancelations and Pilot Strike
Mexican drug cartels creating chaos in the North and South
Narco Roadblocks create Chaos and Panic in Monterrey
Musevenis's decision leads to Chaos in Kampala
Chaos If Mugabe Dies In Office
Silver lining disappeared: Pakistan's new order and chaos theory
Financial troubles forced Mexicana de Aviacion, the first airline established in Mexico and among the oldest in the world, to suddenly cancel on Monday several regular flights to destinations in the United States, including Los Angeles, San Jose and Sacramento.55326283 xHOUV 18311-LA TIMES
Manuel Borja, general director of Grupo Mexico, said the poor state of Mexicana Airlines is due to the high salaries received by flight attendants and pilots, and has expressed an urgent need to restructure employee contracts.
In the media conference, Borja stated that Mexicana staff boast extremely high salaries, as they are 49 percent higher than most foreign airlines and a whopping 185 percent higher than other Mexican companies such as Intejet and Volaris.
At this time, according to Borja, more than 20% of Compañía Mexicana de Aviación's gross incomes are used to pay these workers, while other companies spend only 10 percent or less.
Additionally, Borja stated that with the restructuring of wages that they are offering to reduce labor and wages, employees would still be earning 30-50 percent more than the pilots and flight attendants with Interjet and Volaris.
Currently a Mexicana pilot earns about U.S. $216,000 a year, while the flight attendants have a salary of U.S. $53,000 per year.
At this time, three airplanes have been grounded by their financial lenders, two in Canada and one in Chicago. Borja ended the media conference by stating if employees refuse the offer to restructure their contracts, Grupo Mexico will seek to seel the airline.
The pilots and flight attendants unions have asked President Felipe Calderon to intervene, but the federal government has so far declined to step in to bail out the airline.
Last Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration downgraded Mexico's aviation safety rating because of concerns about the country's safety oversight. The move prevents Mexican airlines from expanding service in the U.S. It also bars them from carrying passengers to and from the U.S. on code-sharing agreements with U.S.-based airlines, under which airlines can sell tickets to one another's flights.
