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    HomeTravelAmerican Airlines pilots vote for potential strike while airline says negotiations are...

    American Airlines pilots vote for potential strike while airline says negotiations are progressing


    Pilots talk as they look at the tail of an American Airlines aircraft at Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport.

    Mike Stone | Reuters

    American Airlines pilots have voted overwhelmingly to allow their labor union to call a strike while the carrier said talks for a new contract are getting close to a conclusion.

    Pilot strikes are rare and would require permission from the federal National Mediation Board. The vote doesn’t mean a decision to call a strike would happen immediately.

    More than 96% of American’s pilots participated in the vote and 99% of them voted to allow 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 new deal dragged on. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom had said the airline was ready to raise pay to match rival Delta Air Lines, whose pilots approved a four-year deal earlier this year with 34% raises and other improvements.

    “Today marks a proud milestone in our pilot group’s unity and resolve and an important step on our path to securing the contract we have earned and deserve — one that prevents management from operating at a discount to our competitors and includes our ‘must 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 “within reach” and that a “handful” of issues are left to complete.

    “The finish line is in sight,” she said in a statement. “We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important 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 end of a potential four-year deal at American, a captain flying narrow-body planes would make $475,000 at the top of the scale while the most senior captains of wide-body planes would make $590,000 per year, 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 such as better, more predictable schedules as travel demand improves following the pandemic.



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