North America’s airline unions come to grips with their employers' needs for profitability

North American airlines are the underpinning for a recent rise in IATA's global profit forecast for 2015 from USD25 billion to USD29 billion. With a projected USD15.7 billion in profits, airlines in Canada and the US are driving the global airline industry's profitability this year.

Those airlines are reaping benefits from an industry reshaping driven by bankruptcy and consolidation, which have helped North American airlines to slash debt, bolster their respective balance sheets and, for many companies, exceed their stated ROIC (return on invested capital) goals.

But many North American airlines are in the midst of negotiations with various work groups that are aiming for favourable contracts in the new era of profitability.