FORT WORTH -- American Airlines pilots could reach a new contract deal with the carrier in a matter of days, the Allied Pilots Association said Tuesday.
The Fort Worth-based airline has made improvements to its "last-best-final" offer, which the pilots had rejected by 61 percent in August, the union told its members in a negotiations update."By rejecting the original [agreement], the membership gave us the tools to be able to go further in the bankruptcy process than any other pilot group has dared to go," the update said. "Ultimately, we believe management will make the moves they need to make on the remaining key deal points so we can embrace an industry-standard contract and look forward to rebuilding our careers."Last week, American said "good progress" had been made and that it hoped a tentative agreement could be in place by Thursday. The carrier is trying to get the last holdout union to sign a contract while its corporate parent, AMR, is working to restructure in bankruptcy."Negotiations continue as we try to reach a consensual agreement that provides growth opportunity and security for our pilots and allows American Airlines to successfully restructure," said American spokesman Bruce Hicks.American and the unsecured creditors committee are still supporting a 13.5 percent equity claim to be given to the pilots, the union said. The flight attendants and Transport Workers Union received 3 percent and 4 percent equity claims, respectively, in their ratified contracts.The APA's board of directors is scheduled to meet today through Friday to discuss the negotiations' progress. The union is also holding an informational picket at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport at 11 this morning at Terminal D."There is potential for an agreement with AMR in the days ahead, but it all comes down to a number of moves management will need to make on key deal points to bring us into the realm of industry standard," the APA said.Also Tuesday, American announced that its new Boeing 777-300ER will not enter service until late January, about six weeks after its original promised service date.American said the delay is due to manufacturing problems with first-class seats manufactured by Zodiac UK. American had anticipated using the Boeing 777-300ER on its route from DFW to Sao Paulo, Brazil, from Dec. 13."Often times there are delays with the introduction of a new fleet type as there are a multitude of elements that must align in order to deliver a state-of-the-art product for our customers," said American spokeswoman Andrea Huguely. The Boeing 777-300ER's new tentative date is Jan. 31, she said.Separately, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied American's request for a rehearing on its case to delay a union representation election by passenger service agents.The Communications Workers of America has been trying to organize American's 10,000 service agents. It had been granted the right to hold a union representation vote by the National Mediation Board this past spring, but balloting was delayed by American's legal challenges.The latest appeal at the Fifth Circuit was sent back to a lower court, which was ordered to throw out the case. American had claimed the union did not collect authorization cards from 50 percent of workers, as required by a new law enacted in February. The NMB argued that the previous 35 percent standard should be used.Andrea Ahles, 817-390-7631Twitter: @Sky_TalkHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
