Pilots chat while taking a look at the tail of an American Airlines plane at Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport.
Mike Stone | Reuters
american airlines pilots overwhelmingly voted to permit the union to go on strike, while the carrier said talks for a recent contract were nearing completion.
Pilot strikes are rare and require the approval of the federal National Mediation Board. The vote doesn’t mean that the choice to declare a strike can be made immediately.
More than 96% of American pilots took part within the vote and 99% of them voted to permit the union to declare a strike, the Allied Pilots Association said on Monday.
The APA called a strike authorization vote in March as talks over a recent deal dragged on. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the airline is prepared to boost pay to match rival Delta Airlineswhose pilots approved a four-year deal earlier this yr with 34% raises and other improvements.
“Today is a proud milestone within the unity and determination of our pilot group and a vital step in our journey to securing the contract we deserve – one that forestalls management from discounting our competitors and includes our “mandatory” quality of life priorities – wrote on Monday to the pilots the president of the APA, Capt. Ed Sicher.
A spokeswoman for American Airlines said the carrier believed a deal was “at hand” and that there have been “few more” issues to be resolved.
“The finish line is in sight,” she wrote in a press release. “We understand that the strike authorization vote is considered one of the necessary ways wherein pilots express their desire to strike a deal and we respect the message of the voting results.”
Including higher 401(k) premiums, at the top of a possible four-year contract with American, a narrowbody captain would earn $475,000 at the highest of the size, while probably the most senior widebody captains would earn $590,000 a yr, based on a recent contract proposal.
Pilot contract talks have been difficult across the industry, including the US, United Airlines AND Southwest Airlinesas pilots are looking not just for pay increases but additionally for quality of life improvements corresponding to higher, more predictable flight schedules as demand for post-pandemic travel increases.
