Tag Archives for pilots.
When disruptions hit, pilot availability, crew scheduling, fleet readiness, and a too-tight schedule can turn delays into waves of cancellations — so Delta is adding reserves, trimming flights, and rebuilding operational slack.
Passengers sued Boeing and Southwest over the 737 MAX because they feared flying it. Southwest pilots sued Boeing for the opposite reason: they say Boeing’s misrepresentations put the MAX into their contract, then the 20-month grounding cost them millions in flying time and pay.
The new system American Airlines is using to connect pilots with flights at the last minute, and make sure flights are staffed, is fueling a revolt of its more senior cockpit crew. It means junior pilots get access to more high paying flights. With senior pilots furious that their union let this in the contract, it could tip the scales in efforts already underway by half the pilots to overthrow their union.
Delta pilots are opening contract talks early and pushing for a fast deal even though they already earn as much as $465.13 an hour at the top of the scale, because they know their leverage may not last. Delta is highly profitable now, pilot hiring is resuming, and new aircraft types are entering the fleet, but oil prices, the economy, and politics can all turn quickly — so the union is trying to lock in gains while the window is still open.
JetBlue pilots are suing over the airline’s United partnership, arguing that Blue Sky goes far beyond a normal interline deal and crosses into territory their contract was designed to block. The fight could become a serious threat to one of JetBlue’s most important commercial bets, because if the union wins the right to fully arbitrate its grievance, the airline may be forced to redesign parts of the partnership or pay up to keep it alive.
The FAA just issued a new mandate requiring airlines to certify that pilot hiring is based solely on merit—not diversity initiatives—despite zero evidence of compromised safety. Is this regulation necessary, and even legal or just political signaling?
American Airlines pilots declared “no confidence” in the airline’s management and requested a meeting with the board over financial and operational struggles—but the board declined, sending them right back to the executives they criticized.
American Airlines pilots have joined flight attendants in revealing they were forced to sleep in airports during last week’s meltdown, with their union blasting management as “completely unprepared,” despite clear warnings ahead of the storm.
Alaska Airlines sold a customer a paid first class seat for an 8-hour Liberia–Seattle flight — then called them to the podium at boarding and bumped them to coach because two pilots were deadheading. Pilot contracts can require premium cabin seats, and Alaska’s language is unusually aggressive about it compared to how United, Delta, and American handle “pilots over passengers.”
A must-pass funding package to avoid a January 30 government shutdown is carrying quiet airline policy moves that will matter far more than the headlines about FAA dollars.
The major pilot union is celebrating “two fully rested pilots at all times,” but the language is really a spending restriction that prevents the FAA from studying new technologies that might improve safety, and separate language orders the Department of Transportation to revisit decades-old international aviation policy that has worked to open market access and foster competition.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
