As summer begins, trouble in the US airways

Picket: Outside United Airlines' shareholder meeting in Chicago earlier this month, pilots protested the pay packages for the company's top managers. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Labor dissatisfaction could be a key factor in how the summer travel season goes.

By Alexandra Marks | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

NEW YORK - Buckle those seat belts. The nation's airways are in position to create some not-so-friendly skies.

With airplanes packed with more passengers than ever before, forecasters predicting severe hurricane and thunderstorm seasons, and airline employee morale at what experts say is a record low, this summer could become one of the most chaotic. Some analysts are predicting it could even rival the summer of 2000, which was laden with work slowdowns, record flight delays, and passenger frustration.

"All of the pieces are in place," says Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition in Radnor, Pa. "There's so much dissatisfaction, and so many employees are burned out. They're working longer hours for less pay in a system that is jammed to the hilt." continue...