On Friday, management disclosed a failure within the pilot schedule bidding system. As a result, thousands of flights currently do not have pilots assigned to fly them during the upcoming critical holiday period.

Today, management issued an update detailing the “significant holes” in the operation and unilaterally invoked a solution for crewing affected flights.

Management’s actions are in direct violation of your contract.

APA has responded by filing a Presidential Grievance (Carey Presidential Grievance No.17-187).

Because management unilaterally created their solution in violation of the contract, neither APA nor the contract can guarantee the promised payment of the premium being offered.

Important to note: By not including APA in developing collaborative solutions to this critical holiday scheduling failure, management’s actions contrast with their handling of previous scheduling failures involving other work groups. This stands in direct opposition to the company mantra of “Validating the Trust” and the stated goal of making culture a competitive advantage. Management’s actions likewise jeopardize any collaborative effort to ensure our passengers have a pilot crew to take them to their important holiday events.

American is offering pilots 150 percent of their normal hourly wage to pick up some of the flights, the top rate laid out in their contract, Miller said. The APA has filed a grievance, saying the proposed solution violates its labor contract. The union wants input with American to find a solution that will motivate pilots to give up vacation they’ve already been granted after years of working over the holidays, said Dennis Tajer, an APA spokesman.

Thousands of December flights on American Airlines do not yet have pilots scheduled to work because of a system scheduling error, the carrier’s pilots union said as it gears up for one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
A glitch in the system that bids for pilots’ time off based on seniority is behind the shortage, the Allied Pilots Association union said. The group estimated that more than 15,000 flights from Dec. 17-31 - a critical holiday travel period - were affected.