The APA CBA is in the download section of APC.com. The text that refers to international code sharing is too long to be posted here (over 18000 characters).

Suffice it to say, it's long enough and complex enough to be left to interpretation, which is obviously what AA management intends to pursue.

At the last union meeting in ORD, the APA president spoke of the frustratingly slow pace of negotiations. He laid the blame at the feet of the NMB--which has privately stated to both parties (APA and AA management) that it has no intentions to declare an impasse or release anyone into a cooling off period.

This has left APA (and other unions governed by the RLA) with few options, and since nothing generally happens at a negotiating table without leverage (which APA possesses none) its been difficult to move forward. The best APA can do is to challenge perceived encroachments on the current CBA. The 7300 floor is definitely a huge issue. Unfortunately, at the time it was negotiated, nobody sufficiently defined "cockpit crew member" (i.e. does it include chief pilots and check airman--of which AA has nearly 900 of ?). So we will have to wait on an arbitrator's decision for the definition.

The reasons for the NMB decision are mostly political and are prohibited from being posted in this forum.

So read between the lines...