Tag Archives for pilots.
British Airways charted a course of cost savings by firing all of its flight attendants and then offering to rehire about 70% of them back, in some cases for 60% less money.
Undeterred, British Airways is now saying that if their pilots don’t give them all the concessions they demand, they’ll just go ahead and fire them too and rehire back a portion at lower pay.
While the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program has had its scrapes and embarrassments, its record remains better than that of the Federal Air Marshal Program. Indeed frustrations with the air marshals are the reason that these post-9/11 efforts to arm pilots were hardly the first time this was considered.
Eastern Airlines commissioned a Colt revolver in the 1970s to combat hijackings. The charge was to develop a special revolver that wouldn’t cause problems for the aircraft if they penetrated the plane’s skin or its windows.
Chit chat while being towed doesn’t actually violate the U.S. sterile cockpit rule that only activities necessary for safe operation of the aircraft can be carried out when below 10,000 feet (technically, during critical phases of flight). However they’re being recorded.
What’s unusual is standing in the cockpit for takeoff. U.S. rules are clear that pilots must be belted in at the controls, and everyone else has to be belted in for takeoff and landing. There is no standing in the cockpit.
Delta can’t take government money and furlough pilots. Without the ability to furlough pilots they can’t get pilots to agree to cuts. And pilots getting full pay while everyone else suffers is going to make it hard for Delta to make the case to other work groups to remain non-union.
Two AirAsia pilots climbed out the window of their plane on Friday when they arrived in Delhi. Video shows one of them taking luggage from the other. They had learned a passenger on board might be infected with the novel coronavirus – or at least was sneezing, which isn’t commonly a symptom of COVID-19. No one on board actually had the virus.
British Airways pilots have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, their right to strike has been upheld by the courts, but no strike has yet been scheduled. The airline and its pilots have been in government-facilitated negotiations, much like American Airlines and its mechanics.
Ultimately pilots can bring down an airline in a way no other work group can. Here’s what BA’s pilots reportedly want.
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 »
