Beleaguered American Airlines pilots plan protest at MIA over company’s management
The union that represents American Airlines pilots will protest what they call unreliable working conditions from the airline’s management at Miami International Airport on Oct. 19.
The Allied Pilots Association, which represents 13,800 American Airlines pilots, says the company has reassigned their pilots in record numbers, consistently fails to properly book accommodations, and forces pilots to work on their days off, causing fatigue. They also allege that management sometimes doesn’t provide pilots with adequate meals and meal breaks.
“Unfortunately, management has repeatedly demonstrated its inability to run a reliable airline,” the union said in an email to members.
“While attempting to recover from weather-related disruption (and sometimes even on clear-sky days), management often resorts to making up its own rules, generating brand-damaging headlines and jeopardizing passenger loyalty and precious revenue,” the email continued, citing a thunderstorm in Dallas in early August that they say led to over 60,000 passengers being affected by cancellations across the country, mostly due to the company’s failure to connect pilots and planes.
A union representative said pilots have grown weary of American Airlines’ schedule going “haywire” when it rains in Dallas, explaining that routine weather like rain and thunder tends to cause scheduling disruptions that last for days.
The protest will consist of “informational picketing” at MIA, one of American Airlines’ biggest hubs and the base for over 2,000 unionized American Airlines pilots. It is illegal in the United States for airline pilots to strike.
The union held a similar protest at Dallas Forth Worth airport in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought air travel to a near halt. The protest next month in Miami, which will have parallel protests in Dallas and other airports, is a continuation of the pre-pandemic picketing.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our frontline employees have stepped up, all while facing unknown risks and dealing with a maze of testing and quarantine requirements,” the email to union members said. “They quite literally saved the airline.”
Chip Long, American Airlines Vice President of Flight, acknowledged in an email statement sent to pilots last Friday that the company had a “challenging stretch” in June due to issues like weather, vendor staffing and temporary pilot training. He added that pilot training and staffing has been bolstered and that in the period of July through September, relative to the size of their schedule, the airline had more active pilots than previous summers.
Miami International Airport did not immediately respond to request for comment.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 2:44 PM.
