AAflyer
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December 7, 2007
American pilots drop a little bombshell
At the negotiating table Thursday, the union representing American Airlines pilots made a proposal that gets to the heart of more than 20 years of hard feelings between its pilots and American -- and for that matter, for many pilots at big carriers.
The Allied Pilots Association proposal:
All flying performed by or on behalf of the Company or an Affiliate shall be performed by pilots on the American Airlines Seniority List in accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement.
American Airlines quickly put out a response, in the tsk-tsk style that it uses on its public negotiations website, www.aanegotiations.com:
AA negotiators raised serious concerns about the impact of such a proposal and believe our efforts should be focused on helping American be competitive in all areas of its business.
What that means is that only American Airlines pilots will do its flying, whether it's 37-seat regional jets or 500-seat jumbo jets.
Very reluctantly, the APA back in the 1980s agreed to let American contract with regional carriers to provide the short-haul flights into its hubs. But that has grown over the years to long-distance flights and not just into hubs, and the American union has never liked it, even as it had to back down because all of American's major competitors were benefitting from out-sourced flying.
Complicating this question now is American's Nov. 28 proposal to spin off its separate American Eagle unit that does most commuter feed for American.
The union in the past has proposed that its members do all flying, with the proviso that the commuter pilots would be paid lower rates than those who fly bigger airplanes. But the average American pilot gets benefits and such that also raise the employee costs in addition to the hourly pay rate, so American hasn't shown any interest.
This will get interesting.
Posted by Terry Maxon at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments | TrackBacks (0)
American pilots drop a little bombshell
At the negotiating table Thursday, the union representing American Airlines pilots made a proposal that gets to the heart of more than 20 years of hard feelings between its pilots and American -- and for that matter, for many pilots at big carriers.
The Allied Pilots Association proposal:
All flying performed by or on behalf of the Company or an Affiliate shall be performed by pilots on the American Airlines Seniority List in accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement.
American Airlines quickly put out a response, in the tsk-tsk style that it uses on its public negotiations website, www.aanegotiations.com:
AA negotiators raised serious concerns about the impact of such a proposal and believe our efforts should be focused on helping American be competitive in all areas of its business.
What that means is that only American Airlines pilots will do its flying, whether it's 37-seat regional jets or 500-seat jumbo jets.
Very reluctantly, the APA back in the 1980s agreed to let American contract with regional carriers to provide the short-haul flights into its hubs. But that has grown over the years to long-distance flights and not just into hubs, and the American union has never liked it, even as it had to back down because all of American's major competitors were benefitting from out-sourced flying.
Complicating this question now is American's Nov. 28 proposal to spin off its separate American Eagle unit that does most commuter feed for American.
The union in the past has proposed that its members do all flying, with the proviso that the commuter pilots would be paid lower rates than those who fly bigger airplanes. But the average American pilot gets benefits and such that also raise the employee costs in addition to the hourly pay rate, so American hasn't shown any interest.
This will get interesting.
Posted by Terry Maxon at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments | TrackBacks (0)
