American Airlines pilot's union calls for terminations of 'upper middle management' over flight disruptions
Resolution accuses management in charge of crew manning, scheduling of damaging airline's brand, reputation by failing to ensure reliable service
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The Allied Pilots Association, which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots, has passed a new resolution calling for the termination of managers running the airline's crew manning and scheduling operations.
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A copy of the resolution obtained by FOX Business accuses upper middle management of damaging the brand and reputation of American Airlines by failing to ensure reliable service for tens of thousands of passengers.
"The APA Board of Directors believes it is in the best interest of the American Airlines shareholders, employees, the communities it serves, and the traveling public for the management team members who control the American Airlines operation be replaced," the resolution states.
According to the APA, more than 60,000 passengers were impacted by flight cancellations over Father's Day weekend alone.
"It’s imperative that American's schedule reliability is fixed before the holiday travel season when the winter operation will be larger than this past summer," APA spokesman Dennis Tajer told FOX Business. "We’re very concerned that with winter storms during the important holiday travel season, management will create repeat of the summer’s hundreds of flights cancelled days after storms pass."
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American Airlines, who is currently in contract negotiations with the APA, declined to comment on the resolution.
Though the company was plagued by staffing shortages over the summer, American vice president of flight operations Chip Long told pilots in a memo sent before Labor Day that the airline has since made significant staffing improvements. American announced plans in July to add 350 new pilots by the end of 2021 and 1,000 new pilots over the course of 2022.
"We feel good about where we are today and have worked hard to be able to ensure we are set up for success the rest of this year and beyond," Long said.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 14.37 | +0.17 | +1.20% |
In addition to the resolution, the Allied Pilots Association plans to launch a series of informational picketing events, which are slated for Oct. 19 at Miami International Airport, Oct. 26 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport ORD, Nov. 4 at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport and Dec. 9 at Los Angles International Airport.