Pilots Want Changes To Work Rules

American Airlines is one of four airlines bidding for new routes coming available between the US and China. The Fort Worth, TX-based carrier is in competition with Continental, Northwest and United for the routes.

The problem for American is its pilots; they aren't happy about the changes those routes would make to work rules. The Allied Pilots Association, the union body representing American's pilots, is demanding an immediate negotiation of those rules. At issue is the duty day limits and pay for cancelled flights.

The airline wants pilots to accept longer duty-days because the flights to China are 16 hours. The union says it's willing to accept the longer day, but they want assurances from the airline that pilots will still get paid if the day is cut short because of a flight cancellation.

The airline said no to that proposal, claiming it's unrelated to the China route. A spokeswoman for the airline said pay guarantees for cancelled flights would have a ripple effect on other operations.

Union spokesman Denis Breslin told the Houston Chronicle, "They cherry-picked some of the good things we were offering and gave us nothing of value in return."

No matter how the current dispute shakes out it's clear something must happen before the airline can accept the China routes. The flight times for them would exceed limits set in its current contract with the union.

The airline and union reached an agreement in a similar situation last year when the airline started service to New Delhi.

The airline has asked the union to add negotiations for the China routes to regular contract negotiations which are just starting.

The union, however, seems intent on holding the airline's figurative feet to the fire. And it might just work -- getting the pilots on board could be critical for the airline's bid.

FMI: www.aa.com