Who woulda thunk it?


Eagle Pilots Protest Outsourcing of Jobs in Chicago | Reuters





WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--American Eagle pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Intl.,today demanded that AMR Corporation [NYSE:AMR] halt any plans to outsourceChicago-based flying currently performed by its subsidiary, American Eagle.AMR`s announcement to shift certain Chicago flights to American Connection is"unacceptable" and violates the Eagle pilots` current collective bargainingagreement. AMR recently announced schedule changes for the Spring of 2010, including movingAmerican Connection airplanes and flight crews from St. Louis to Chicago.American Connection is the brand for flights operated by Chautauqua Airlines, anindependent contractor of regional flying. "Outsourcing our flying is not only a contract violation, but is an insult toevery American Eagle pilot and every American Eagle employee who has personallysacrificed for AMR," said Capt. Tony Gutierrez, chairman of the American Eagleunit of ALPA. Since AMR`s acquisition of TWA, Chautauqua Airlines has been providing regionalfeed to American Airlines on a limited basis in the St. Louis market. AMRdecided to drastically reduce service in and out of St. Louis and to transfersome of American Eagle`s flying to Chautauqua. "Management always said that American Connection contract flying was simply abyproduct of the TWA acquisition," said Gutierrez. "Now, instead of doing theright thing and exiting these contracts, AMR is promoting a third-party airlineat the expense of its own employees. We will do everything in our power to stopAMR from giving away our jobs." American Eagle pilots maintain that its wholly owned relationship with AmericanAirlines makes it a seamless operation for customers travelling on AmericanAirlines. "The average traveler doesn`t know that American Eagle is one of thefew remaining `wholly owned` regional airlines," said ALPA Vice Chairman DaveRyter. "American Eagle`s relationship with American has definite advantages forthe traveling public, not the least of which is the cumulative experience of ourpilots," said Ryter. Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world`s largest pilots union, representing nearly54,000 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada. Air Line Pilots Association, Intl. (ALPA)Linda Shotwell, [email protected]rDoug Baj, [email protected]opyright Business Wire 2009