Update on American, pilots contract talks

American Airlines and its pilots union resumed talks on Monday, as the two sides try to reach a new tentative contract agreement.

But what Sky Talk is hearing is that the pace of the negotiations may be slowing down without the self-imposed deadline that both parties agreed to prior to the third quarter earnings announcement of American's parent company, AMR Corp.

On Monday, the Miami domicile sent out a quick recap of last week's events which included intense talks between the Allied Pilots Association and American. Miami union leaders reassured pilots that APA is not rushing into a deal to "satisfy management's needs."

"We made ourselves available to conduct business, and management once again dropped the ball, as they did when they were to serve a comprehensive proposal in August. We have not abandoned any of our resolve or determination, and in fact, remain committed to achieving top-notch results in all areas of our CBA. We join management in seeking a return to corporate profitability, contingent upon their recognition of APA’s valuable everyday contributions and past sacrifices. However, it may become necessary at some point to acknowledge that a satisfactory CBA is unattainable with this current management team," the Miami update said.

Keep reading for the full update.

-Andrea Ahles

Comments

[wpii]

""We made ourselves available to conduct business, and management once again dropped the ball, as they did when they were to serve a comprehensive proposal in August..."

I think its probably pilot-speak for 'We aren't getting everyrthing that we're demanding.'

[frontline]

I think it is hard to know what is going on unless you are at the table. Sure leaks will happen, but I doubt we will get a complete picture until later.

They should stay at it until they get a deal done!

[AAexecPlat2000]

So in bankruptcy court the pilots will lose their pensions and take a big paycut and get their work-rules rewritten. That is where AA is headed, maybe not today, but not too long from now. Pilots are smart, educated people, so that ought to know this. They need to bite the bullet and accept a plan that basically looks like United's and be glad they get to keep their pensions. If they cant do this (or even accept their much richer deal that AA is offering them now) then they are truly a dysfunctional union suffering from collective delusion.

[DG]

Did Lloyd Hill write this memo?

[Scotty]

I agree. The pilots are smart and they know they have the most to lose from a bankruptcy filing. Look no further than the Delta pilots who had their pensions shifted to the government and took a big haircut on them. Nobody at the APA wants that. They have "skin in the game."