Pilots talk as they give the impression of being on the tail of an American Airlines aircraft at Dallas-Ft Value International Airport.
Mike Stone | Reuters
American Airlines pilots have voted overwhelmingly to permit their labor union to call a strike while the carrier said talks for a recent contract are getting near a conclusion.
Pilot strikes are rare and would require permission from the federal National Mediation Board. The vote does not imply a choice to call a strike would occur immediately.
Greater than 96% of American’s pilots participated within the vote and 99% of them voted to permit the union to call a strike, the Allied Pilots Association said Monday.
The APA called the strike authorization vote in March as talks for a recent deal dragged on. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom had said the airline was ready to lift pay to match rival Delta Air Lines, whose pilots approved a four-year deal earlier this yr with 34% raises and other improvements.
“Today marks a proud milestone in our pilot group’s unity and resolve and a very important step on our path to securing the contract now we have earned and deserve — one that forestalls management from operating at a reduction to our competitors and includes our ‘will need to have’ quality-of-life priorities,” APA president Capt. Ed Sicher wrote to pilots Monday.
A spokeswoman for American Airlines said the carrier believes a deal is “close by” and that a “handful” of issues are left to finish.
“The finish line is in sight,” she said in an announcement. “We understand that a strike authorization vote is certainly one of the essential ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done and we respect the message of voting results.”
Including higher 401(k) contributions, at the top of a possible four-year deal at American, a captain flying narrow-body planes would make $475,000 at the highest of the size while probably the most senior captains of wide-body planes would make $590,000 per yr, based on a recent contract proposal.
Pilot contract talks have been difficult throughout the industry, including at American, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, as pilots seek not only increases in pay but quality-of-life improvements similar to higher, more predictable schedules as travel demand improves following the pandemic.
