Fatigued Southwest and American pilots plan to picket
The union for American Airlines pilots plans to picket at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and other places such as Miami after facing fatigue, dropped hotel reservations and other problems in another summer filled with delayed and canceled flights.
The Allied Pilots Association could be joining pilots at Southwest Airlines this fall in the informational demonstrations as the commercial aviation industry has failed to smoothly return to flying as the covid-19 pandemic eased this summer.
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association made a similar call for pilots to begin informational protests at airports in the coming weeks, although there is little chance of an actual walkout by pilots because it is prohibited by federal law.
“Unfortunately, management has repeatedly demonstrated its inability to run a reliable airline, and has failed to give us the tools we need to do our jobs,” the Allied Pilots Union said in a message to members Tuesday. “While attempting to recover from weather-related disruption [and sometimes even on clearsky days], management often resorts to making up its own rules, generating brand-damaging headlines and jeopardizing passenger loyalty and precious revenue.”
Pilots and flight attendants at both of the North Texasbased airlines have been complaining all summer that they have borne the burden of poor planning by airlines that rushed to put up aggressive schedules to capture the demand from the traveling public after the slowdown of the covid-19 pandemic.
Pilots union spokesman Dennis Tajer has said the airline doesn’t have enough pilots to run that many flights after letting nearly 1,000 walk away during the worst of the covid-19 pandemic.
Airlines such as Southwest and American have trimmed fall travel schedules to try to limit problems.
The picketing could be the prelude to a much nastier fight between American and the union amid continuing talks for a new contract. The Allied Pilots Association represents all 13,400 pilots at American.
The Allied Pilots Association pointed to several stretches this summer of numerous cancellations after routine slowdowns caused by weather and technology problems. But those problems, which would sometimes only last a few hours, would often cripple flight schedules for several days as American struggled to relocate pilots and flight attendants who had hit federal flying limits.
The Allied Pilots Association said American has forced pilots to work on days off. Pilots have also been showing up to hotels in destination cities and been turned away because the airline didn’t provide adequate proof of payment and crew members have even been forced to skip meals because they don’t have enough time between flights.