AA pilots fire broadside on alliance with BA, Iberia

The Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots, has sent letters to the CEOs of British Airways and Iberia, "questioning the advisability of forging closer ties with American Airlines." The pilot union believes that the proposed anti-trust immunity deal between American, British Airways and Iberia violates a provision in their contract which dictates what type of flying can and cannot be done on American's behalf by pilots of other carriers.

The pilots insist that American must negotiate an exception to the so-called "scope clause" if it wants to link up with the other airlines and cooperate on transatlantic flights.

"Our scope clause does contain a variety of exceptions—including those for code-sharing agreements and commuter affiliates—that have permitted management to engage in various alternatives to having an American Airlines pilot at the flight controls," the union said in a message to pilots late Tuesday. "There is no such exception for this type of joint business agreement."

The letter to the CEOs, which was signed by union president Lloyd Hill, an American captain, also "highlights the ongoing operational reliability problems at AA, primarily associated with AMR management’s poor treatment of and adversarial relationship with employees," according to the message. " In addition, Captain Hill points out that management has permitted pilot staffing levels at American Airlines to fall below a specific contractual benchmark, triggering a provision that will soon enable APA to terminate the scope exception that allows the company to utilize commuter air carriers in their system."

The union plans to file a grievance requesting "expedited arbitration" on the issue, and says it will take additional steps down the road.

The folks at American have insisted for some time that the contract allows for this type of deal. Obviously the pilots disagree. One thing is for sure - if the airline does have to negotiate a side deal with pilots, it won't be easy. Pilots are notoriously wary of alliances, particularly with foriegn carriers, due to fears that domestic flights may eventually be outsources to foreign pilots.

- Trebor Banstetter

Here's the complete email blast the APA sent to pilots:

SCOPE UNDER ATTACK: As we have advised you over the past few weeks, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian have filed for worldwide antitrust immunity, and American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia have also announced plans to enter into a related “joint business agreement.” Since then, our Scope Committee has met with management to discuss their plans and conducted a review of related documents today.

It’s crystal clear that our contract does not permit management to proceed with their joint business agreement without negotiating with us first. Of course, you’ve all seen management’s statements in the news media that the joint business agreement “complies with all aspects of our labor contracts.” Our response to that statement is that repeating a falsehood over and over won’t make it true. It’s reminiscent of management’s similarly unsupportable claim that furloughed pilots count toward the cockpit crewmember floor in our contract, which they clearly do not.

Our contract’s Scope clause stipulates that “All flying performed by or on behalf of the Company or an Affiliate shall be performed by pilots on the American Airlines Pilots Seniority List.” Our Scope clause does contain a variety of exceptions—including those for code-sharing agreements and commuter affiliates—that have permitted management to engage in various alternatives to having an American Airlines pilot at the flight controls. There is no such exception for this type of joint business agreement.

Moreover, history has demonstrated that our Scope exceptions have cost us jobs and flying opportunities. There isn’t a single exception to Scope that has been beneficial to our pilots. So, not only does management need a Scope exception to pursue their joint business agreement—it’s also up to them to convince APA that this exception is in our pilots’ interests.

APA President Captain Lloyd Hill sent a letter today to the chief executive officers of British Airways and Iberia—with copies to the heads of Finnair and Royal Jordanian—questioning the advisability of forging closer ties with American Airlines. Captain Hill’s letter emphasizes the need for a contractual agreement with our pilots before the joint business agreement can proceed. It also highlights the ongoing operational reliability problems at AA, primarily associated with AMR management’s poor treatment of and adversarial relationship with employees.  In addition, Captain Hill points out that management has permitted pilot staffing levels at American Airlines to fall below a specific contractual benchmark, triggering a provision that will soon enable APA to terminate the Scope exception that allows the company to utilize commuter air carriers in their system.

Although we currently have some of the strongest Scope protections in the industry, we still have lost countless jobs and expansion opportunities to regional carrier expansion, outsourcing and international codesharing. The protections we do have are all that stand between us and a further erosion of our flying. Of the contractual issues critical to our future, this one is at the top of the list of issues that we must defend.

Accordingly, Captain Hill will be filing a presidential grievance tomorrow for expedited arbitration as part of our efforts to halt this serious encroachment on Scope. In the coming days and weeks, we will be taking additional steps to defend this vital part of our contract.

Also, be sure to watch the brand-new edition of the APA Pilot Perspective on Scope. You’ll find a link to this video on the public and members’ home pages of alliedpilots.org and on apanegotiations.com.

Comments

[dray]

There really isn't much to say other than APA gives all unions a bad name. Hill is a nut, and pilots who I thought were well-educated admirable people have got to be brain washed. These guy's really are a nut case!

[jttrav]

Wow. Pretty bold move on the part of APA. I am confused, however, by APA's claim that this agreement would undermine any scope clause. This arrangement does not merge any work groups nor does it affect a pilot's ability to fly. This agreement does strengthen AA's ability to compete internationally and therefore accommodate passengers by offering more routes overseas. Doesn't this, in essence, provide pilots with more opportunities of flying time? One has to wonder if this latest assault is another attempt to boost APA's leverage during contract negotiations. It seems pretty suspicious.

[John S]

Is it April fools already? They have got to be kidding. Even by the APA standards, these are some stupid arguments. Let's look at a few facts:

* This is a revenue-positive agreement for AA. More revenue means more job security and a better outcome of future contract negotiations, both goals the APA claims to pursue.

* AA has a team of lawyers to vet these types of agreements. They would not risk violating SCOPE or any other contract clause. This is a red herring by the pilots.

Is this just another ploy in the pilots PR campaign against the company? Time will tell. What I can say for certain is that their arguments are disingenuous and illogical.

[wpII]

John S, you crack me up! Of course this is another ploy in their campaign. Why would the pilots want to undermine potential revenue increases for the company? Your guess is as good as mine. The whole concept of the pilots or anyone else dictating who AA can do business with is unconscionable. APA's squawking is moot, this alliance will go through and it will be very positive for AA.

[JR]

Since APA is so adept at putting forth absurd conspiracy theories, I'll try one on for size. Wonder how much Sir Richard shucked out to APA to come up with this argument? Branson has been actively seeking allies in his quest for blockage of the deal by lobbying our presidential candidates. The ever-so-vocal and combative APA is another logical pursuit.

[JK]

Hey JR, when you wrote that one were you wearing your UFO costume? WOW, what a theory!!