Pilots at Delta Air Lines say the Atlanta-based carrier has proposed major changes to their contract, which represent a “comprehensive attack” on scheduling rules and agreements that date back years. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents Delta flight crew, now says “all options are on the table” as it considers its response to the airline’s demands.
The background to this latest development is that the existing three-year contract between pilots and Delta will become amendable in December. But rather than being dragged into months or even years of lengthy bargaining after this data, ALPA had sought an accelerated negotiation strategy.
The idea was that relatively minor changes could be made to the contract, including pay rises, and some improvements to benefits, before the current contract became amendable. This wasn’t going to be a full rewrite of the contract, but rather a quick touch-up to address the issues that matter the most to pilots.
ALPA says it has been meeting with Delta management “on an aggressive schedule” in an attempt to reach a quick agreement, but those talks are starting to see serious signs of falling apart, after ALPA said it was calling off the next round of bargaining with the airline that was meant to get underway on August 10.
Instead, the union’s leadership is convening a special meeting to discuss “next steps” with “all options” on the table.
In an internal memo shared with its members, ALPA claimed Delta has “refused to meaningfully engage” in the areas that are most important to pilots, including vacation, layover hotels, retirement provisions, commuter policies, and travel benefits, as well as pay increases.
At the same time, Delta is allegedly “trying to gain broad scheduling concessions from the pilot group.”
It appears that Delta’s argument for these changes, such as reversing reroute restrictions, rewriting reserve rules, and making it harder for pilots to swap trips, is that they are necessary to improve the airline’s operational performance, which has been increasingly shaky in the last couple of years.
ALPA rejects this argument, saying the rules that Delta is now trying to change date back many years to a time when the airline was touted as the ‘on-time machine.’
Last month, ALPA told passengers in an open letter that the more than 17,000 pilots it represents at Delta “share in your frustration over the delays, cancellations, and disrupted travel plans you experienced.” The admonishment added: “We agree; it is unacceptable. ”
Eric Criswell, the chairman of ALPA’s Delta Master Executive Council, slammed the airline, saying, “These problems did not appear overnight. They have developed over time through the compounding mismanagement of a long-standing system.”
