Thousands of American Airlines flights during the upcoming
holiday season don't have assigned pilots due to a glitch in the
pilot-scheduling system.
The Allied Pilots Association, the union representing
American's pilots, said that the scheduling deficiency was caused by a problem
in American's pilot-bidding system, in which pilots submit their scheduling
preferences.
American Airlines said it expects to avoid cancellations
during the holiday season though the use of reserve pilots and by paying pilots
who pick up designated open trips 150% of their hourly rate.
"We will work with the APA to take care of our pilots
and ensure we get our customers to where they need to go over the holidays,"
the carrier said.
In a notice to members that it called "Holiday
Scheduling Failure," the APA said American management had "unilaterally
invoked a solution for crewing affected flights," thereby violating its
labor contract with pilots.
American declined to answer questions about the cause of the
glitch and precisely how many flights are impacted.