Eagle Pilots Expand Anti-Sale Campaign

After saying the proposed sale of American Eagle by parent-company AMR Corp, would harm passengers, Eagle pilots joined American Airlines pilots in opposing the move. Related Story  American Airlines pilots voiced opposition to the sale based on its scope clause. The American Eagle pilots' union, a unit...

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After saying the proposed sale of American Eagle by parent-company AMR Corp, would harm passengers, Eagle pilots joined American Airlines pilots in opposing the move. Related Story  American Airlines pilots voiced opposition to the sale based on its scope clause.
The American Eagle pilots' union, a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l., said a sale could cause the elimination of "point-to-point" service between several popular destinations including Eagle flights to and from Dallas-Love Field, Kansas City, Raleigh-Durham, San Jose, and Santa Ana-Orange County based on the current contract between American Airlines and its pilots that prohibits independent carriers from flying those routes for American Airlines. Point-to-point flights represents approximately 250 of American Eagle's 1,700 daily flights.
ALPA believes the motivation for the sale by AMR is to try to reduce pilot costs, as well as to use American Eagle as a pawn in contract negotiations between American and its pilots' union. The pilot unions believed they had reached an agreement with American Airlines and American Eagle on a plan that would have significantly reduced costs and benefited both pilot groups. At the last minute, management negotiators terminated the agreement, and the sale announcement followed a few weeks later.
"American Airlines spokesmen have suggested that the flying public will see little if no change in service as a result of a sale," said Captain Herb Mark, chairman of the American Eagle pilots' union. "At the same time, Eagle President Peter Bowler has told his employees that flying may be shifted to other destinations owing to 'restrictions on flying of non-wholly owned regional partners.' This is just another example of the lack of any strategic vision or coordination over the sale of this airline. It's been more than two weeks since the sale announcement, and we are still waiting to be briefed by management on a business strategy or rationale for divesting American Eagle."
In a recent document distributed to American Eagle employees, Mr. Bowler referred to a section of the collective bargaining agreement between American Airlines and its pilots' union, the Allied Pilots Association, requiring all flights that do not fly to or from an American Airlines hub to be flown by a wholly-owned carrier of AMR. American Eagle currently is wholly owned by AMR but if American Eagle is divested, a number of those flights would no longer be operated.
"Such a change would represent a significant contractual concession by the Allied Pilots Association, and in light of massive management bonuses while simultaneously demanding pilot pay cuts, it does not appear that AA pilots are in the mood to give concessions," Capt. Mark said. "We had an agreement that was a win for everyone involved. Now everyone loses, including our valued customers in California, Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, who are likely to lose quality, convenient air service."
APA issued a statement earlier last week demanding they be the only ones allowed to fly for American, regardless of the future ownership of the regional carriers. The proposal, made last week, has far-reaching impacts on American as it would curtail all code-sharing flights, including those with international carriers, the company now has.
Citing its contract, pilots said: "All flying performed by or on behalf of the company or an affiliate shall be performed by pilots on the American Airlines seniority list in accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement." For its part, American said that such a proposal would weaken its strong network.
The scope clause, hammered out in the 1980s, paved the way for the creation of American Eagle and the union said changes in the regional carrier – jets and longer routes – are not what the union had envisioned at the inception of code-sharing networks – short feeder connecting service. The contract works for mainline pilots in that it allows them to fly for Eagle in the event of layoffs but it also gives Eagle pilots priority in American Airlines hiring. An attempt to resolve conflicts between pilots and American failed recently after the regional carrier asked mainline pilots to allow it to acquire 25 70-seat regional jets.
American pilots also want American to resume service to several international points formerly served by TWA, which was absorbed into American in 2001. They indicated the recently announced code-sharing deal with El Al to Tel Aviv could be flown by American pilots if the old TWA route were re-opened. The objection also impacts its Oneworld deals with British, Japan and Qantas airlines