Understaffed, bad weather, soaring fuel prices, inflation runaway — airlines face many challenges as they seek to benefit from strong travel rebounds. However, there is at least one complex problem with this combination. It’s negotiations for a new pilot contract.
Each of the largest airlines in the country is in the process of signing a contract with a pilot. In some cases, airlines appear to be ready to pay significantly higher wages, and recently two major airlines have offered to raise wages by more than 14% next year and a half.
But money alone may not be enough. Pilot unions are also demanding changes that they say will improve operations and members’ quality of life, especially as pilots are frustrated and overworked, especially due to the turmoil in the recovery flight.
According to industry analysts, they may be in a good position to get what they want. The shortage of brewing pilots was exacerbated during the pandemic when airlines encouraged thousands of pilots and other workers to accept buyouts and early retirement offers. Currently, the industry employs a record number of pilots, but their unions are clamoring for broader change as they struggle to attract, train and retain pilots.
“Money can never tackle quality of life,” said Casey Murray, pilot and president of the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association. “We never pay anyone enough to lose a piano recital or a baseball game with our daughter.”
According to Future & Active Pilot Advisors, a pilot career consulting firm, US airlines have already employed more than 5,500 pilots this year, at least more than they have been since 1990. The four largest airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, make up the majority of their employment, with a total of about 50,000 pilots. Those airlines say they had little trouble finding qualified candidates, even though airlines in smaller areas they hire are struggling.
But even the largest airlines are slowing down the process of getting new pilots to work due to training bottlenecks. These delays hurt efforts to maximize travel recovery, and in some cases, bad weather, staff shortages, and coronavirus outbreaks could have included greater aviation in the turmoil. The collusion to turn it into a company turmoil contributed to an unexpected meltdown.
To avoid such problems this summer, the industry has broadly curtailed its ambitions. For example, according to aviation data provider Cirium, during May, airlines reduced about 2.5% of domestic flights scheduled for June-August. And these issues are not limited to pilots or parts of the world.There is a shortage of staff throughout Europe Force airlines to cancel flights Aviation workers have begun to strike over working conditions.
In the United States, airlines are trying to transfer some of their responsibilities to the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming that the industry does not have enough air traffic controllers to run smoothly.
Read more about organized labor in the United States
In a message to staff last week, United’s chief operating officer, John Reutmann, said the aviation system “will continue to be challenged after this summer” unless the agency addresses the staff shortage. However, the FAA disputed its characterization, arguing that “most of the delays and cancellations were not due to FAA staffing,” although it was partly due to a lack of controllers.
Whatever the cause, the turmoil and last-minute rescheduling have frustrated pilots across the industry and led to complaints of overwork to the point of fatigue.and Last month’s full-page newspaper adAt current rates, airline pilots said they worked overtime by this fall rather than combining all of 2018 and 2019, a leader of the Delta Pilot Union, known as the Delta Master Executive Council.
Council chair Jason Ambrosi said higher wages are still the focus of negotiations with Delta, but pilots are also demanding better working conditions.
“We will work on compensation, but as part of a broader package that includes quality of life issues, schedules, the fact that pilots can go to work and completely confuse schedules and do not know where they are. They will lie down that night, “said Ambrosi, Delta’s captain. “There are situations where the pilot can be extended for multiple days. He will pack the bag for two days and eventually go out for four days.”
Last month, more than 1,500 Delta pilots and more than 1,300 Southwest pilots picketed nationwide to raise awareness of their concerns, according to a union representing those pilots. In early June, fellow Americans protested outside the New York Stock Exchange for better working conditions. The union says that some of the changes they are looking for precede a pandemic. They are trying to regain the benefits they say were lost in the wave of bankruptcy in the 2000s, including protection against pensions and overwork.
A little over two years ago, pilots from four major airlines were in the early stages of contract negotiations. However, these efforts were essentially stopped by the start of the pandemic. The focus of the industry has moved to survival, and airlines and trade unions have joined forces to successfully lobby Congress with $ 54 billion in pandemic aid.
Travel recovery stagnated until last summer, when widespread availability of coronavirus vaccines prompted a rebound. Contract negotiations have resumed in earnest from this year.
United and its pilots have moved to the one closest to the new deal, 2 year contract The pilot will vote this week. Under this contract, pilots will receive a series of salary increases, with a salary increase of over 14.5% within 18 months. They will also receive better wages for overtime and working during periods of high demand. 8 weeks of paid maternity leave. Greater schedule flexibility. More protection against overwork.
Last month, American Airlines announced its own offer to pilots. This is in close agreement with United’s contract, raising base salary by about 17% by early 2024. This will raise the maximum base salary for single aisle captains to $ 340,000. The captain of a larger twin-isle plane can earn as much as $ 425,000 a year, but the airline’s chief executive officer said in a message to the pilot. If the pilot agrees by the end of September, the offer will include a substantive contract.
However, the Allied Pilot Association, a union representing 14,000 American aviators, was not impressed.of Video message To union members, its chairman, Ed Sitcher, argued that this was “the most competitive market in history for qualified airline pilots” and a market that greatly facilitated favorable salary increases. .. He encouraged union members to continue to focus on ensuring better rules for managing schedules and assignments.
“We all know where the true value of this deal lies with our members, which is in the awkward amendments to the company’s practices that continue to reduce our quality of life.” He said.
Experts say the slow-moving shortage of pilots has shifted dynamics from similar negotiations over the past few years. The shortage was caused by many factors, including the narrowing of the military-to-airline pipeline and the aging workforce. The industry is struggling to attract new hires who are attracted to other disciplines and are discouraged by training costs of around $ 100,000. In retrospect, according to industry analysts and airline executives, it’s clear that during the worst of the pandemic, airlines pushed pilots too far, with thousands offering early retirement and acquisitions.
Dan Akins, an aviation economist at Flightpath Economics, a consulting firm, said: “It is exaggerated by the liberation of the elderly in Covid.”
But the shortages are the most serious of the regional airlines, and they say they are confused because larger airlines seduce pilots. To make matters worse, executives at these airlines say that many retirees are gaining experience or working in training new pilots.
That pressure is raising the wages of pilots for those little airlines. American recently announced a significant salary increase for pilots working on airlines in their area. This move is expected to repeat throughout the industry. However, airline analysts say that higher pilot rates on regional and large airlines are unlikely to have a significant impact on fares. Pilot payments are considerable, but account for only a small portion of the airline’s overall operating costs.
As negotiations continue, the dynamics of the industry may soon take on new forms. Demand has skyrocketed this summer, but high inflation continues and concerns about a recession could weaken travel demand in the coming months, analysts said.
Sheila Kahyaogle, an aerospace and defense analyst at investment bank Jeffreys, said the airline is “ready” for a slowdown. “Maybe schedule concerns will resolve themselves.”
