Sky Talk

American: not questioning normal maintenance reports, just ones where nothing is wrong

American Airlines said it isn't questioning normal maintenance reports made by pilots, only the ones where mechanics have found nothing wrong or are not safety related.

Responding to the pilots union's statement that pilots were writing up serious maintenance issues, company spokesman Bruce Hicks said that the number of reports where a mechanic "responded to a pilot's complaint and found nothing wrong" have increased 97 percent in September.

Here is the full statement from Hicks:

"The APA’s press release is an outrageous and disappointing attempt to divert attention from the real issues of the operational disruption caused by some pilots’ illegal job action. The kinds of issues cited in their press release are not uncommon in the industry and they are not the issue. No one at American is questioning normal maintenance write-ups. However, certain pilots are engaging in an unlawful, concerted effort to damage the company. For the past several weeks, we have seen an unprecedented increase in pilot maintenance write ups, many at the time of scheduled departure, which are certainly not safety related. And, the number of reports where a mechanic has responded to a pilot’s complaint and found nothing wrong have risen 97% this month. The unlawful conduct by some pilots includes unnecessary checks, increased maintenance write-ups and last-minute maintenance requests, increased block times due to slow taxiing, and circuitous routings. American has asked APA to take action to help end these illegal job actions and return our operations to normal levels. Our goal remains for all of us to put this recent behavior behind us and turn to the critical task of operating a more efficient, competitive airline in the interest of all economic stakeholders, including our pilots."

-Andrea Ahles

APA: We don’t negotiate with bullies. But we'll be adult about this.

The Allied Pilots Association reiterated its position on Friday that American Airlines' management team needs to be replaced.

Even though American is threatening legal action against the union because of continued delays and cancellations, the union said it is still willing to negotiate with the company and "be the adult in this relationship."

"While senior management says they want to work together at the bargaining table to achieve a consensual agreement, they’re also holding a baseball bat and threatening to take punitive legal action. What kind of reaction were they expecting? We don’t negotiate with bullies," the APA leaders said in a note to members.

The note continued, "With Ms. Lynn’s letter, senior management has once again demonstrated their ability to never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. They continue to step over dimes to make pennies.....Because someone has to be the adult in this relationship, the APA Board will reconvene on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. to discuss next steps in our pursuit of a contract commensurate with the value the pilots bring to this airline."

The union also gave examples of some of the maintenance write-ups that occured this week that caused some of the flight delays including a broken pilot oxygen mask, a main landing gear hydraulic leak and fuel tank seepage on the ramp.

Keep reading for the full note and press release from the APA on Friday afternoon.

-Andrea Ahles

This past Monday, at the invitation of AMR senior management, your APA leadership was formally asked to return to the bargaining table. Upon receiving this invitation, your APA National Officers quickly convened a special APA Board of Directors meeting for Wednesday to respond to AMR’s request to re-engage and to provide the APA Negotiating Committee with updated guidance.

Within minutes of issuing an announcement reaffirming APA’s intention to resume negotiations, the APA National Officers and Board of Directors received a letter from American Airlines Senior Vice President-People Denise Lynn that can only be characterized as a self-inflicted gunshot wound for AMR. In the letter, Ms. Lynn aggressively threatened legal action to address the company’s current operational issues, rather than be accountable for what has become a disaster of senior management’s own making.

So, while senior management says they want to work together at the bargaining table to achieve a consensual agreement, they’re also holding a baseball bat and threatening to take punitive legal action. What kind of reaction were they expecting? We don’t negotiate with bullies.

With these heavy-handed labor tactics, management chose to blow up the negotiating opportunity before them and deny responsibility for a series of missteps that are resulting in the destruction of the American Airlines brand name.

As you look at American Airlines’ current operational difficulties, consider that during the past year the airline has sustained record Federal Aviation Administration fines totaling $162 million for improper aircraft maintenance procedures. In addition, companies that own and lease American Airlines aircraft have formally complained to the bankruptcy court that management has neglected to perform routine maintenance on their aircraft. Even the FAA has stepped up its scrutiny of American’s maintenance procedures.

Instead of addressing these problems, management at first attempted to tarnish our reputation by alleging a pilot sickout, a claim we quickly and successfully refuted. And when a sickout was rumored to be set for last Friday, APA proactively defused it. Now management alleges that pilots are using their professional discretion to take actions such as “delaying departures for unnecessary checks, increased and late-filed maintenance write-ups, increased block times due to slow taxiing, and circuitous routings.” To reiterate, APA has not authorized any concerted job action.

Management’s bullying tactics unfortunately are not unexpected, as their lead bankruptcy counsel is Harvey Miller, who was Frank Lorenzo’s lead counsel during the Eastern bankruptcy that ultimately led to the airline's liquidation. Additionally, AMR chief media spokesman Bruce Hicks was the chief spokesman for Frank Lorenzo for more than a decade in the late 1980s and early 1990s at Continental and Texas Air Corporation.

With Ms. Lynn’s letter, senior management has once again demonstrated their ability to never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. They continue to step over dimes to make pennies. Once again they have shown why American Airlines will not return to its pre-eminent position in the airline industry with this senior management team at the helm. American Airlines needs to change and this change needs to start at the top.

After discussing the ramifications of Ms. Lynn’s letter, the APA Board of Directors adjourned their meeting mid-day on Thursday. The prevailing sentiment of your APA leadership is that Ms. Lynn’s letter was nothing short of a “sucker punch” and we will not be bullied.

Because someone has to be the adult in this relationship, the APA Board will reconvene on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. to discuss next steps in our pursuit of a contract commensurate with the value the pilots bring to this airline.

Thank you for your continuing professionalism.

In unity,

Your APA Leadership

MAINTENANCE ISSUES PRESS RELEASE

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), certified collective bargaining agent for the 10,000 pilots of American Airlines, issued the following response regarding recent management allegations that pilots continue to disrupt flight schedules with insignificant maintenance requests.

“Federal aviation regulations and American Airlines’ policies and procedures require that all known mechanical discrepancies be entered into the aircraft’s maintenance logbook for corrective action,” said APA President Keith Wilson. “Failure to place a mechanical discrepancy in the maintenance logbook can result in a revocation of a pilot’s license by the Federal Aviation Administration, not to mention the fact that it could result in a serious safety risk.”

American Airlines pilots continue to encounter a large number of serious maintenance-related issues that must be documented, as required by law. Below is a small sampling of issues that were documented pre-flight in the past several days:

• Pilot oxygen mask broken
• Main landing gear hydraulic leak
• Aircraft avionics overheat warning
• Fuel tank seepage on the ramp
• Premature fuel burn indications

When proper preventative maintenance on the ground is not performed, it can lead to in-flight incidents such as the following, which were recently reported by our pilots:

• A B-737 had a wheel well fire indication in flight and was forced to declare an emergency and returned to the departure airport.
• A B-737 declared an emergency and was diverted to Amarillo due to a smoke and electrical smell in the cockpit while en route from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Denver.
• There were bearing failures in the main landing gear on a B-767 requiring replacement of two wheels.
• A B-767 experienced multiple landing gear indication malfunctions after takeoff and was forced to declare an emergency and land overweight at the departure airport.
• There was a premature fuel burn from the left main wing tank causing a serious weight and balance issue.

Due to recent FAA fines and American’s ongoing financial struggles, the FAA has stepped up its scrutiny of the carrier’s maintenance procedures.

“American currently operates the oldest fleet of aircraft in the industry, requiring much more frequent maintenance than other carriers that operate newer fleets,” Wilson said.

This week, the FAA Certificate Management Office that monitors American Airlines sent a message to APA regarding its “specialized Operational Risk surveillance” on the airline. The message included the following statement directed to pilots: “If you feel you have been coerced to refrain from reporting maintenance discrepancies, we advise you to report any instance of such to the AMR CMO for investigation. We also encourage you to use the Aviation Safety Action Program to report such instances.”

Wilson said pilots are no doubt taking a prudent and cautious approach in their operational decision-making process ― especially in light of the fact that management canceled the AA-APA collective bargaining agreement and the protections it provided.

“Our pilots should never be pressured or bullied into not reporting any maintenance issues that could endanger the traveling public,” Wilson said.

FAA tells pilots it stepped up oversight on American when the carrier filed for bankruptcy

With allegations that pilots are slowing down American Airlines' flight operations by filing last-minute maintenance requests, one American pilot asked the FAA for a little clarification on when he should or should not write up a maintenance issue.

In a response on Thursday, the FAA said it is "conducting specialized Operational Risk surveillance" on American's operations but that it stepped up its oversight when the carrier filed for bankruptcy, not necessarily because of the labor spat going on right now.

"The Federal Aviation Administration began stepped-up surveillance of all aspects of flight operations at American Airlines when the company filed for bankruptcy protection, as the agency has done under similar circumstances involving other air carriers," the FAA said in a statement. "Our primary focus is on ensuring that the company's financial situation does not negatively affect the safety of the traveling public. These efforts will continue until the situation is resolved."

The increased oversight will continue throughout American's bankruptcy and expects the airline, pilots and mechanics groups to all abide by FAA rules, the agency said.

Keep reading for the full letter from the FAA sent to the pilot.

-Andrea Ahles

The AMR Certificate Management Office (AMR CMO) holds FAA oversight responsibility for the American Airlines air carrier operating certificate. This office is actively investigating all aspects of the current events, as well as the attached letter sent by American Airlines to the APA Leadership.

The AMR CMO is currently conducting specialized Operational Risk surveillance on American Airlines operations. This surveillance is focused on frivolous maintenance discrepancy reports, misuse of the approved Minimum Equipment List, lack of adequate maintenance, time escalations, mishandling of aircraft trim settings, crew rest and duty time, disruption of airport ground operations and traffic flow, and falsification of maintenance discrepancy release statements.

This specialized surveillance will remain in effect throughout the bankruptcy process. In short, the CMO is conducting surveillance on all regulatory requirements which are expected to be followed by the airline as well as the maintenance and pilot groups.

If you feel you have been coerced to refrain from reporting maintenance discrepancies, we advise you to report any instance of such to the AMR CMO for investigation. We also encourage you to use the Aviation Safety Action Program to report such instances.

APA president tells pilots to "cease immediately" any alleged operational slow downs at American

In a note sent to pilots Thursday night, Allied Pilots Association president Keith Wilson reaffirmed that the union is not advocating a sick-out or any other job action to slow down American Airlines' daily operations.

"To be clear, APA has not authorized any concerted job action and APA disapproves of any such illegal activity," Wilson said in the hotline message. "If, as Ms. Lynn alleges, pilots are using their professional discretion to delay departures through unnecessary checks, frivolous maintenance write-ups (and late filing), slow taxiing to increase block times, and taking circuitous routings, that activity must cease immediately."

He added that the union's legal counsel has advised the board of directors that American would likely be successful if the carrier asked a federal court to issue an injunction to stop the work slow down.

"Based on the recent experiences of other pilot groups, it’s clear that we would be seriously disadvantaged if we are forced to conduct ourselves under a restraining order. There is no strategic advantage whatsoever for APA to be placed in that situation," Wilson said.

Keep reading for the full message.

-Andrea Ahles

Fellow pilots,

During the past several years, I have seen numerous references by our members to what they perceive as AMR management’s “tin ear” where pilot issues are concerned. The letter your APA leadership received late yesterday from American Airlines Senior Vice President-People Denise Lynn represents the latest example of this unfortunate characteristic.

A quick recap of recent events is in order. Last week an AMR spokesman made a reference in a video statement that management was ready to re-engage in negotiations. APA asked management to provide us with a written statement of their intent regarding negotiations. Management did so. I promptly replied in kind that the APA leadership was interested in re-engaging and we convened a special APA Board of Directors meeting on short notice. At the close of yesterday’s session after deliberating a variety of negotiating-related items, the APA Board of Directors affirmed the union’s support for the resumption of bargaining. Shortly thereafter, AMR management decided the time was right to issue a written threat to the APA National Officers and Board of Directors.

I’d also like to recap how APA responded to rumors of a potential sickout slated for Friday, Sept. 21. When we became aware of these rumors, APA Vice President Captain Tony Chapman issued a system-wide cease-and-desist “robo call.” Sick usage didn’t spike on the 21st and instead remained within historical norms, as it has all month. While we can’t attest to the validity of the rumors, the APA leadership certainly understood that a grassroots job action wasn’t in anyone’s best interests and we took preventive measures.

In her letter, Ms. Lynn expresses management’s “concern about mounting evidence that certain pilots are engaging in an unlawful, concerted effort to damage the Company.” She asks the APA leadership to issue a “clear denunciation of this illegal conduct” and states that management “will be forced to act quickly and aggressively” if APA does not “comply with this legal duty or if this unlawful conduct continues.”

To be clear, APA has not authorized any concerted job action and APA disapproves of any such illegal activity. If, as Ms. Lynn alleges, pilots are using their professional discretion to delay departures through unnecessary checks, frivolous maintenance write-ups (and late filing), slow taxiing to increase block times, and taking circuitous routings, that activity must cease immediately.

On a related note, as the APA Safety Committee addressed earlier today in a system-wide e-mail message, the AMR Certificate Management Office (which holds FAA oversight for the American Airlines air carrier operating certificate) is currently conducting specialized Operational Risk surveillance on the airline’s operations. This surveillance is focused on frivolous maintenance discrepancy reports, misuse of the approved Minimum Equipment List, lack of adequate maintenance, time escalations, mishandling of aircraft trim settings, crew rest and duty time, disruptions of airport ground operations and traffic flow, and falsification of maintenance discrepancy release statements. This specialized surveillance will remain in effect throughout the bankruptcy process.

There’s been considerable news media attention in recent days focused on American Airlines’ operational difficulties. In our conversations with news reporters, APA has emphasized the wide variety of factors that figure into the operational reliability equation, including the age of our fleet, the availability of spare parts and increased scrutiny of our pilots by the FAA. We have aggressively defended APA and its members against allegations that pilots are behaving inappropriately, and we will continue to do so. You can enhance our ability to defend you by continuing to file an APA Observer Report whenever you encounter an operational anomaly. Thorough documentation is critical.

If management seeks a temporary restraining order against APA, make no mistake—we will likewise defend ourselves vigorously. However, by being forced to defend ourselves in court, we’re diverting resources that your leadership believes would be more effectively deployed elsewhere. And with AMR in Chapter 11 restructuring, our legal advisers indicate that it’s highly likely management’s request for a restraining order would be granted. Based on the recent experiences of other pilot groups, it’s clear that we would be seriously disadvantaged if we are forced to conduct ourselves under a restraining order. There is no strategic advantage whatsoever for APA to be placed in that situation.

After discussing the ramifications of Ms. Lynn’s letter, the APA Board of Directors adjourned their meeting mid-day today. The prevailing sentiment of your APA leadership is that Ms. Lynn’s letter was nothing short of a “sucker punch” and will not enhance our ability to work with AMR management. The APA Board will reconvene on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. to discuss next steps in our pursuit of a contract commensurate with your status as professional aviators for a major U.S. carrier. As your advocates, your APA leadership needs to devote all available resources to that task in the coming days and weeks. A meaningful improvement in American Airlines’ operational performance is essential to keeping our focus where it belongs.

Thank you for your usual professionalism.

In unity,

Keith Wilson

APA President

 

TWU responds to union drives to unseat it from representing American mechanics

The Transport Workers Union is playing a little offense.

The union, which represents American Airlines mechanics, store clerks, ground crew and other workers, is pushing back against campaigns organized by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association and the Teamsters union to unseat the TWU at its maintenance bases.

In a letter sent to members on Thursday, TWU deputy director of the air transport division Robert Gless laid out why the union sent concessionary contracts to its members for ratification while American is in bankruptcy. All seven of the workgroups the TWU represents at American Airlines ratified agreements with the carrier over the summer.

"The TWU has, in contrast to the results of most bankruptcies, preserved the majority of the work performed by our mechanic and related members, including 65 percent of aircraft maintenance," Gless wrote in a letter to members. "No contract negotiated by the IBT or AMFA preserves anywhere close to the same level of work, and both organizations have allowed the vast bulk of heavy checks to be outsourced at the carriers where they represent aircraft maintenance."

Both IBT and AMFA are scheduled to hold informational meetings in the next few weeks with American workers.

Click here to download the full letter from Gless.

-Andrea Ahles

US Airways flight attendants reject tentative agreement

US Airways flight attendants took a second look and decided they didn't like the proposed contract from the Tempe-based carrier.

The flight attendants voted to reject a tentative agreement with US Airways in a 51 percent to 49 percent vote. The five-year deal was endorsed by the Association of Flight Attendants leaders, who represent the US Airways workers.

"We are disappointed that our flight attendants chose to vote against ratification of a new contract," said US Airways chief executive Doug Parker. "Going forward, our current collective bargaining agreements remain in place, and we will consult with the National Mediation Board to determine the next steps."

-Andrea Ahles

AMR posts $82 million loss in August

AMR Corp. posted a net loss of $82 million in August, according to a court filing made Thursday morning.

Excluding $86 million in reorganization fees, the Fort Worth-based carrier would have posted a monthly net profit of $4 million. During the bankruptcy process, AMR is required to file monthly financial reports with the court.

The company said it spent $56 million on aircraft financing renegotiations and rejections and $18 million on professional fees during the month. It also spent $12 million on "other" reorganization items which are not detailed in the report.

The loss reverses a two-month trend where the carrier had posted monthly profits. Without the reorganization costs, the carrier has reported monthly profits for four months in a row.

AMR also said that its mainline carrier, American Airlines, had passenger revenues of $1.6 billion with its regional affiliates, including American Eagle, bringing in $262 million in revenues. Total revenues for the month were $2.19 billion.

The company ended the month with $447 million in cash and $3.8 billion in short-term investments for a total of about $4.2 billion on hand. That number is down from $4.8 billion in July and does not include $846 million in restricted cash.

-Andrea Ahles

Read more here: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2012/06/amr-posts-monthly-operating-loss-of-132-million.html#storylink=cpy

American threatens legal action against pilots

American Airlines is threatening legal action against its pilots union if pilots continue to slow down the company's operations.

Late Wednesday, the Fort Worth-based carrier said senior vice president Denise Lynn sent a letter to the Allied Pilots Association asking the union to take steps to keep its members from disrupting American's operations by filing last-minute maintenance delays which have caused hundreds of flights to be delayed across its system the past two weeks.

In the letter, Lynn said it is illegal for pilots to engage in a work slow-down and the airline will file for an injunction if the pilots continue to hurt its operations.

"This unlawful conduct is taking the form of discretionary pilot actions including such things as delaying departures for unnecessary checks, increased and late-filed maintenance write-ups, increased block times due to slow taxiing, and circuitous routings," Lynn said in the letter. "The conduct at issue is inflicting economic damage on the Company; it is frustrating and alienating our customers; and it is driving unnecessary work and significant stress for other employees."

American has cancelled close to 90 flights, about 4.5 percent of its scheduled flights, so far on Thursday with a third of those at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, according to FlightStats.com. On Wednesday, the carrier cancelled a little over 55 flights but close to 250 flights had delays over 45 minutes giving American an on-time arrival rate of 61 percent, the website said.

The APA board of directors is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss possible negotiations with American. On Wednesday, the union board reaffirmed its support to reengage management at the bargaining table, but that was before the letter from Lynn was sent to the union.

After receiving Lynn's letter Wednesday evening, the board is likely to reverse course and recommend not restarting negotiations, said APA spokesman Tom Hoban.

"Within 24 hours of being asked to return to the bargaining table, they threaten legal action," Hoban said. "This is akin to being suckerpunched."

"It’s finger pointing that they’re engaging in because they failed to man this airline properly and failed to fix maintenance issue," Hoban added.

Lynn said the company does not want to sue the union but that it "must take appropriate steps" to protect American and its customers.

"I hope that we can put this recent behavior behind us and turn to the critical task of operating a more efficient, competitive airline in the interests of all economic stakeholders, and begin the joint task of finding common ground for a new pilot agreement," Lynn said.

Keep reading for the full letter that was sent to the APA.

-Andrea Ahles

Dear APA National Officers and Board Members:

I am writing to express my concern about mounting evidence that certain pilots are engaging in an unlawful, concerted effort to damage the Company. This unlawful conduct is taking the form of discretionary pilot actions including such things as delaying departures for unnecessary checks, increased and late-filed maintenance write-ups, increased block times due to slow taxiing, and circuitous routings. This behavior has been accompanied by statements from pilots indicating that the activity is intended to “send a message” to the Company to express displeasure with AMR management, the Court’s Section 1113 decision and the absence of a new consensual agreement with the Company.

As I am sure you are aware, following the Second Circuit’s decision in the Northwest Airlinescase, there is no longer any question that “self-help” of this sort is unlawful. This conduct is also seriously misguided, as it threatens the financial and operational prospects of the Company just as the Company is in the process of righting itself after a decade of losses and competitive disadvantages. All of American’s customers, creditors and employees, including the pilots, have an interest in seeing these reorganization efforts succeed. The conduct at issue is inflicting economic damage on the Company; it is frustrating and alienating our customers; and it is driving unnecessary work and significant stress for other employees. If this conduct continues, it will diminish the value of the Company and the ultimate return to our creditors.

Accordingly, I ask that you communicate immediately and unambiguously with your members that such work actions are unlawful and that any individuals engaging in such activities will be subject to both Company and APA discipline. I ask that you communicate this message both publicly and in any other private forms or channels of communication used by the APA for disseminating information about bargaining and/or strike preparedness. I also ask that APA refrain from communications that could be misconstrued by line pilots as support for disruptive activities.

Your clear denunciation of this illegal conduct and your willingness to use APA discipline against those who nonetheless engage in it are necessary components of APA’s responsibility to do all it reasonably can to prevent such activity, as the Railway Labor Act requires. We will be forced to act quickly and aggressively as permitted by the RLA if APA fails to comply with this legal duty or if this unlawful conduct continues. If we do not see an immediate, measurable improvement in our operations, we will have no choice but to seek appropriate injunctive relief.

We do not want to pursue this legal remedy; however, with the operation continuing to suffer for more than a week now, we must take appropriate steps to protect the Company and the many constituents who depend upon it. I hope that we can put this recent behavior behind us and turn to the critical task of operating a more efficient, competitive airline in the interests of all economic stakeholders, and begin the joint task of finding common ground for a new pilot agreement.

Sincerely,

Denise Lynn

They came, they met and they will meet again tomorrow

The board of directors of American Airlines' pilots union met on Wednesday afternoon and will continue their meeting after reaffirming their support to restart contract talks with the carrier.

Here is the hotline message sent out by the Allied Pilots Association on Wednesday evening:

"The APA Board of Directors convened at 1 p.m. Central at APA headquarters. After spending the afternoon in executive session, the Board reaffirmed APA’s support for re-engaging in negotiations with AMR management.

"The Board recessed around 5:45 p.m. and will reconvene at 9 a.m. tomorrow. The meeting is slated to continue through mid-day Friday. The Board’s focus will be on providing guidance to our negotiators as we prepare for the resumption of bargaining."

-Andrea Ahles

Did electric car batteries lead to fire and loss of 747?

That's certainly one possibility raised by this FlightGlobal piece on the demise of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 747-400F and its crew on July 28, 2011.

The crew reported problems controlling the aircraft and from their first warning to loss of contract only 18 minutes passed. The story has this clue as to a possible origin of the fire that apparently brought down the freighter aircraft.

The main-deck pallets included two which were listed as containing dangerous goods, loaded into the positions designated ML and PR, adjacent to the rear freight door. Among these hazardous shipments were lithium-ion batteries - for use in hybrid electric vehicles - as well as highly-flammable and corrosive liquids, for integrated-circuit manufacture, plus lacquers and paints.

Lithium batteries have long been a concern to operators, and earlier this year the International Civil Aviation Organisation examined new safety standards in the wake of the Asiana crash and the loss of a UPS 747-400F in Dubai after an in-flight fire in September 2010.

- Bob Cox