(APA) Jumpseat Priority
Letter Q of the JCBA states that “APA and AA will work together to establish and review reciprocal jumpseat agreements with other carriers. The parties will meet promptly to resolve any issues that may arise from said agreements.”
Recently, and for the third time in six years, the union representatives for the pilots of Republic Airways, one of the non-wholly owned contract regional carriers, are seeking to gain priority status for the flight deck jumpseat on American Airlines (AA), PSA, Piedmont, and Envoy jets. To be clear, APA opposes any change to the current jumpseat priority system, whether those changes elevate the priority of the Republic Airways pilots or the pilots of any other contract carrier. It appears that the union representatives of the Republic pilots approached AA management directly to effect this proposed change.
During both previous attempts by Republic pilots to establish jumpseat priority, numerous AA, PSA, Piedmont, and Envoy pilots were harmed by being denied travel on Republic Airways aircraft operating American Eagle-branded flights. APA – along with the ALPA MECs of PSA, Piedmont, and Envoy – remain committed to protecting our pilots as well as our current flight deck jumpseat policy.
Because higher priority for Republic pilots necessitates lower priority for the pilots of other carriers, numerous other MECs and independent unions have filed letters of protest to this change being sought by the Republic pilots. A significant percentage of our pilots commute to their respective domiciles. Our pre-pandemic data in particular indicates that thousands of jumpseats each week are used by AA pilots aboard other airlines’ (OAL) metal – and the reverse is true of OAL pilots on AA metal. In 2019, more than 28,000 jumpseats were logged by AA pilots on Southwest Airlines jets alone. We have received multiple letters of protest from labor leaders – representing pilots from Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, Hawaiian, and others – stating that they will consider proposing a change to their priority if this AA jumpseat priority change is made.
AA’s jumpseat policies have been in place for decades and are mutually beneficial to all pilots at all carriers. As we’ve made clear, AA pilots rely heavily on jumpseat travel on many other airlines and under procedures that are mutually agreed upon. The current industry standard is “First Come First Served” (FCFS) jumpseat priority. The jumpseat contracts between American Airlines and some 76 other airlines establish mutually agreed-to policies and commit all 77 airlines to agree to promote standards that include embracing FCFS pilot jumpseat travel.
Over the years, some pilot leaders at Republic Airways have chosen to ignore their responsibilities to their contracts by encouraging their pilots to deny AA pilots travel on their jets. They engaged in the same approach against United pilots in 2019, but were unsuccessful in achieving their demands. The current attempt to alter AA policy has both Republic management and the Republic pilots’ union leaders engaging our management team directly. This is evinced by literature published to the Republic pilots and reviewed by APA. These tactics are unacceptable and should not be entertained by AA management.
The potential harm to the APA pilot membership, the AA operation, and to our passengers would be significant. The policy sought by the pilots of Republic Airways would also allow every Republic pilot priority on AA jumpseats over all pilots of our codeshare and international alliance partners at Hawaiian, JetBlue and Alaska. This policy would place a Republic pilot commuting to fly for Delta Connection, for instance, at a higher priority on AA metal above all OAL pilots who might be commuting to fly passengers feeding the AA operation at various network departure points (i.e., JFK, SEA, BOS, ORD, etc.).
The importance of AA’s jumpseat policies and Captain’s authority are also codified in Letter Q of our JCBA: “The Captain’s authority regarding accommodation of other airline jump seat riders is mandated by the FARs and supported by senior management of the Company.” The FARs give the Captain authority and responsibility for all OAL travelers, regardless of where they’re seated, and require the Captain to verify eligibility by reviewing the company ID, FAA license, and medical certificate. Please review and ensure you are familiar with both
Letter Qand the FARs regarding Captain’s authority. This knowledge will be critical should Republic pilots, for the third time, engage in wrongful jumpseat denials of AA pilots.
While AA, APA, and ALPA work on this issue, we ask that you remain professional and continue to welcome Republic pilots seeking jumpseat travel on our jets until this ill-advised effort is resolved and the controversy subsides. If you are affected by a jumpseat denial on a Republic Airways aircraft, whether you get a cabin seat or not, or if a Republic pilot engages with you regarding this jumpseat issue, please file a
Jumpseat Debrief. Your APA leadership will take swift action to respond to any behavior or policy that harms AA pilots.
Additional information and guidance will be forthcoming as we work through this issue.
