Etheereal

I'd be actually upset if i wanted to spend thanksgiving day with my family, but some entitled passengers wanted me to accept some OT im not even interested on.

It works both ways too.

saltytheseagull

I look forward to being delayed and shorted in regards of goodwill gestures by AA. I'm hoping for another thoughtfully crafted email saying we'll do better to rub salt in the wounds!

paperwastage

if it's just optional and incentive to work on days off at 150-200% rate, then that should be okay (up to each individual worker too decide). If you don't, then AA will have to rely on reserves

However, this seems suspicious. Not if you really want people going in sick, unless one side thinks there will be a fake sick callout

xooz

It's a legitimate approach for the union. That said, it is a typical scenario where the union management needs can conflict with the actual member's needs. Union needs more dues paying members so actions that deflate the number of employees is not good for their bank account. Taking action that ends up with more employees needed by the company is good for them. Up to the actual union members as to if they agree with a strategy that eliminates their personal ability to earn extra money.

cardsqc

I think the union thinks they're going to be able to use this as leverage for their cause, while I think it has the potential to really backfire on them. In general, the average person travelling at a peak time like this doesn't really care who's at fault, and is going to be annoyed if they get badly delayed or something. If the appearance is that it's an organized effort by the pilot's union, *and* the airline points out how the pilots specifically rejected the opportunity for bonuses knowing full well they planned on disrupting travel, well, I don't think I'd want to be a pilot on the picket line at that point. It could get very ugly. (And I know, they won't be out picketing, but rather hiding at home.) In general, rightly or wrongly, I think most average public feel that a pilot is a fairly well paid position, and I don't really see that they're going to be overly sympathetic over them using holiday travel disruptions to try to force a better contract.

(I'm also vaguely curious what the pilots really think about the union rejecting it without bringing it to membership like the article implies.)

36902BRF

I have a positioning flight booked east coast to LA as a positioning flight for a flight to Tahiti (with a 23 hour buffer) on 11/29. Thankfully booked on points with AA so fully refundable. I just booked a refundable cash Delta ticket and if AA and their pilots don't get their act together in the next week I'll cancel my points booking with them and fly Delta. First world problems I know.

_fx

Free market at work. AA jacks up prices for consumers on holidays because they can. Why shouldn’t the pilots also demand higher pay, because they can?

Synapseturquoise

lol imagine thinking that a pilot is a button pusher..if it is so easy why don't you become one 🤦🏻‍♀️

milski

Because it is a job with low security, takes a while to get in a place where the pay and benefits are reasonable, and the hours away from home can be a pain. The washout rate from flight schools is very, very low. If you can stomach the price of the training and 5-10-20 years of low pay, you'll make it.

With that said the union does have a point here. AA's offer might seem great but it is very much throwing peanuts at the pilots to try and band aid their staffing problems. Even if you end up working 7-8 hours extra over the holiday weekend, that's roughly about 10% of their monthly pay. So for <1% annual raise, they expect you to leave your family on a holiday and go to work because they did not hire enough people? That would be a hard no for me.

UKtravelbear

If you don't want to work the holiday then don't but don't prevent other people from doing so with the chance of earning some extra cash.

And there are tens of millions of people in the country who will be working Thanksgiving without even a sniff of seeing their family or getting a pay bump for doing so,

Long Train Runnin

A good friend of mine is an OMNI pilot.

They run mostly 767s and a couple of 777s.

From talking with him all the pilots he's told me about come from other major airlines and go to OMNI. So, they are all experienced prior to their first OMNI flight.

All of that being said in knowing 2 other pilots and 1 aspiring commercial pilot the grind it takes to get to the point of having ATP (what it takes to fly commercial operations) stamped on your license means you've been through lots and lots of training. Plus, at least 1500 hours of flying.

I would trust anyone who's put in that kind of time.

FlyerDigits

Why does your concern start on Nov 18? Thanks!

enviroian

Maybe it's the date for PDB's to begin again

Beckles

Doesn't sure their contract already includes higher pay for specified holidays?

Lomapaseo

It's amazing how one innocent thread gets sunk instantly by one comment.

I hope There's still room for other reactions to the subject

To me unions are as political as cur congress. tit-for tat. If you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. etc.
I cant imagine why the general public would want to get into this with judgemental for or against unions groups

Now a likely result to us as passengers is what seems to be much more of our concern

I predict we will be screwed as usual and used as fuel to their private arguments