The American Airlines pilots union, APA (or Allied Pilots Association), has new leadership now and the President of that union, David Bates, is already sounding like someone far more reasonable than his predecessor, Lloyd Hill.  Bates acknowledges that to recover all the salary cuts given years ago is not possible to do in one fell swoop.  That’s a signal of a willingness to find some common ground in an agreement.

However, I remain concerned about a few things.  First, this continues to be about salary above anything else.  I understand that there continue to be pilots who are resentful of not earning a pre-2001 salary today but it seems unproductive to focus only on that. 

A better approach would be getting quality of life improved in return for productivity gains in the next contract.  I know of a blog written by a pilot who has spent 11 years at AA and the best he can do is hold a reserve line as an FO on the MD-80.  That has to be highly unsatisfying to him and others in the same position.  

One complication is American’s focus on its core cities:  LA, New York, Dallas, Chicago and Miami.  Those are very expensive cities to live in with the possible exception of Dallas.   Finding a better way to avoid longer commutes and longer duty days that occur day after day might just help pilots feel a bit more satisfied.  While these pilots get to ride aircraft for “free” to their duty stations, there are a number of associated costs that come with that option that are paid for by pilots.  Little things like food or a crash pad or a hotel room.

In fact, I’ve never understood why an airline like AA doesn’t offer some sort of accommodations in its large base cities to help with quality of life issues. 

Finding a way for a pilot to do his duty hours, get to and from home reasonably and otherwise be a productive member of the crew would go a long way towards making pilots feel appreciated.   If this approach was offered, pilots should take a long look at it instead of just counting dollars up.

One comment I’ve read does bother me.  Bates made the comment that many of these pilots families “had to pull their children out of school.”   What the hell?  It’s poor form to complain about taking your children out of school when that can only possibly mean you took them out of PRIVATE SCHOOL.  Sorry but a lot of people have had to readjust that way and you won’t get much public sympathy for not being able to afford private school for your children.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax