ryane946

I couldn't help but chuckle at this. Read on!



DALLAS (AP) - American Airlines is tinkering with its bid for new service to China, proposing that flights from Dallas stop in Chicago en route to Beijing, to get around objections from pilots. The airline said Friday it has asked to amend its plan now pending before the U.S. Transportation Department.

Return flights would operate directly from Beijing to Dallas because tail winds reduce their time, the airline said.

American, the nation's largest airline, and three other carriers submitted proposals in October for seven new weekly round-trip slots between the United States and China.

American said it was changing is proposal because nonstop Dallas-Beijing westbound flights are 15 minutes longer than allowed under the airline's contract with its pilots. The company and the pilots' union have failed to reach a side deal that would allow longer flights to China.

The Chicago-Beijing leg would squeeze in under the current rules. American would change crews in Chicago to comply with limits on pilots' work days, spokesman Charley Wilson said.

For passengers who board in Dallas, however, the flight to Chicago and a stopover at O'Hare Airport would add about four hours to their trip.

Wilson said the change in the company's proposal was unprecedented in the airline industry. He said American didn't know how it would affect its chances of winning the route.

Officials with the Allied Pilots Association didn't return calls for comment, but the union issued a statement supporting the changed proposal. "Expanding American Airlines' international reach is in the long-term best interests of our airline, its employees and our passengers," the union said.

Last month, the union conditioned its support on concessions including pay for canceled flights. The company answered that the union request should be part of regular contract negotiations, which are likely to last into 2008.

American had based its proposal on becoming the first airline to serve China from a Southern state. The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth and officials at DFW Airport said they supported the stopover in Chicago, saying the service would still benefit Texas and other states.

United plans to fly from Washington to Beijing, Northwest wants to add service from Detroit to Shanghai, and Houston-based Continental proposes to fly from Newark, N.J., to Shanghai.

Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant who has worked recently for both American and the union, said United will probably win the competition because it would link the two capitals. Still, he faulted American for changing its plan, which highlighted tense labor-management relations.

"This one was dead in the water anyway, but everybody should have kept their mouths shut about any arguments in the cockpit," he said.

Leaders of the pilots' union have been angry at the company since early this year, when it gave bonuses to about 1,000 executives and managers, with a few topping $1 million. Pilots are still living under wage concessions they approved in 2003, when American was near bankruptcy.

Northwest asked the Transportation Department to disqualify American from the competition for making a "radical change" after the bidding deadline. United said American's new route would be "even more inconvenient" for customers.

Each of the airlines competing for the China routes has recruited politicians and the flying public to woo the Transportation Department.

Northwest gathered 168,000 letters of support, while United lined up 110 congressional backers and hired the nation's former top aviation regulator to lead its campaign. American, a unit of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp., said 108 members of Congress and 15 governors supported its bid.

© 2006 The Associated Press.


So American wants a new route. Pilots say they will not fly the route unless they get some of their pay back. American changes the route to save labor costs, while in the process screwing their customers. This industry is nuts!

hatetobreakit2u

"The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth and officials at DFW Airport said they supported the stopover in Chicago"

and the ****ing government officials who stick their hands into everything that doesnt concern them only makes matters worse, because you know American will throw some money into the campaign funds of all the senators and mayors that supported them

I quit

Spanky189

Mayors fm Dallas and FT Worth will probably never have to experience the extra 4 hours therefore their opinions shouldn't be given much weight. The consumer will decide.

The fact that Labor (Pilots in this article) would discourage this opportunity due to the current contract without trying to negotiate a side letter is pathetic. Is there goal to have a profitable company for 20 years or to get paid for a cancelled trip? Oh, let's add the 4 hour inconvinience to passengers thanks to the pilots contract!

I do, however, totally disagree with the bonuses being paid to management without giving back to the employees that are making it happen!!@!! United has the same problem, but that is another string...

CALPilotToo

Well, then CAL should get it. Non-stop to China is supposed to be non-stop.

fireman0174

FWIW, it appears to me that UAL will get the award, with CAL a close second.

Which of course means SWA will be awarded the route!

Packer Backer

So, management had nothing to do with it? Maybe the pilots should have just given in and given them a contract waiver for free? Give me a break. You know nothing about contract negotiations. The simple fact is that management was unwilling to give labor a fair price for their concession and now they will lose the route.

fireman0174

I would suggest by your post that you've had very little experience in airline contract negotiations.

IMO, the APA is correct in not signing a side letter and giving away some of their leverage in seeking a new agreement. That would be foolish.

Don't for one second think that the APA wouldn't want an agreement to fly this route non-stop both ways. But they are correct in keeping their eye on the bigger prize - a complete contract.

If the company really wants the route, then they have to get serious at the bargaining table. Apparently they are not.

What are people so quick to blame the unions?

aa73

Guys,

Here are the facts. Whether you believe them or not is up to you.

APA was mainly after sequence protection for super long haul (12+ hours.) Specifically - if our ORD-PVG (Shanghai) or DFW-PEK flight diverts to LAX for a pax disturbance or whatever, the crew goes immediately illegal in LAX. And then their whole sequence goes away - that's 25+ hours of pay, down the tubes. In other words, AA does NOT pay protect its crews if the sequence falls apart. So the crew would go from, say, 75 hours for the month down to guarantee, which is 64 hrs. That is a HUGE pay hit for the pilots.

Keep in mind that the APA granted FREE contract relief for ORD-PVG and ORD-DEL. Free. No sequence protection. Where do we draw the line, then?

All the other airlines have sequence protection, I believe. Why should we not ask for the same? Why should we just roll over and hand the company what it wants without specifically protecting ourselves from the "what ifs?"

The rest of the stuff APA asked for was low or no cost items to the company. But sequence protection was tops, and very important. Now, the APA granted the Co the contract relief to fly the route - and the Co turned us down. Who's not serious about wanting the route, now? Gimme a break.

As someone above said, don't think for a minute that APA would turn down extra flying - the key word being "extra." DFW-PEK was NOT extra flying - they would just pull a 777 from some other market and replace it with this one. We are not accepting new aircraft like CO and DL. But we are not about to grant contract relief for free while not making sure we're covered for the contingencies. Why can't other unions do the same?

The press is very quick to blame the unions, and the Co loves it. Now, think about this - what a wonderful opportunity to blame the pilots during contract negotiations. "Hey, let's turn down their offer - we weren't gonna get the route, anyway - and blame their a$$ when we don't get it. Haha!" Pretty predictable.

AA management screwed themselves on this one.

73

tomgoodman

In its continuing effort to reduce pilot compensation, management doesn't wait for the contract's amendable date. They try to nibble a mid-contract bite here and there, whenever the opportunity presents itself. They hope that pilots will say: "Oh, well, this little issue isn't worth fighting over."

But experienced pilots know that little problems can add up to an emergency.

Skywriting

When the 108 congressman and 15 mayors want to fly to China, put them on a nonstop that stops in Chicago adding 4 hours to there trip and see if they plan on recommending it to the traveling public.