Southwest Pilots Sue to Ground 737-Max

Southwest Airlines pilots hold signs to protest the drawn-out negotiations over a new labor contract at the corner of Mockingbird Lane and Cedar Springs Road in Dallas, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)

Pilots’ Union claims airline has no contract provision to launch new aircraft in 2017.

Pilots belonging to the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA) are attempting to ground the Boeing 737-Max before the carrier becomes the new aircraft’s launch customer in 2017. In a press release, the union announced a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines in federal court, claiming the airline is attempting to force a non-contractual aircraft into operation.

The union claims Southwest cannot launch the aircraft under the current pilot contract because no provision for the aircraft has been added. Under a status quo provision, the pilots allege that flying the new aircraft without a subsequent provision would violate both their contract and federal law.

“Over the past 10 years there have been multiple instances where our contract was reopened to accommodate the use of a new aircraft, whether it was the 737-700, 737-800, or the B717,” Captain Jon Weaks, SWAPA president, said in the press release. “The Max is certainly no different and we expect management to finalize a contract with its pilots expeditiously so that this new aircraft can be flown.”

The lawsuit is the latest move in what has been a contentious contract negotiation between the 8,300 pilots represented by the union and the airline. The group rejected a tentative contract in November 2015, forcing negotiations to resume with the assistance of the National Mediation Board. Pilots are planning an informational picket over the 737-Max issue on Wednesday, May 18, at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW).

The airline has 200 737-Max aircraft on order with options for 191 additional airframes. The first aircraft are expected to join the Southwest fleet in the beginning of 2017. Reporting their first quarter profits, Southwest executives stressed their intention of working with SWAPA to begin operating the 737 Max in 2017. However, in a statement to Bloomberg, Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly called the lawsuit “unnecessary and premature.”

[Photo: Jae S. Lee/Dallas Morning News Staff Photographer)