DALLAS (AP) — With American Airlines canceling dozens of flights every day in a dispute with its pilots, travelers may be thinking of avoiding the nation's third-largest carrier.
A former CEO of American's parent company, AMR Corp., says he's sure it's happening already. Robert Crandall, who ran American for 13 years, says every time the pilots pulled a job action, passengers jumped to other airlines.
American executives believe pilots are calling in sick and crews are slowing operations by filing huge numbers of maintenance reports to punish the company for imposing tough cost-cutting measures as part of its bankruptcy reorganization.
The union insists pilots are reporting to work as usual, and it blames the cancellations on company mismanagement and problems with old planes.
Unions for flight attendants and ground workers accepted new cost-cutting measures this year, but the 8,000 members of the Allied Pilots Association rejected the company's last contract offer.
The airline expects to cancel up to 2 percent of its total flights through the end of October.
%@AP Links
186-q-18-(Shirley Smith, AP correspondent)-"the old planes"-AP correspondent Shirley Smith reports the cancelations have been blamed on a labor dispute with pilots. (21 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *186 (09/21/12)>> 00:18 "the old planes"
185-v-29-(Shirley Smith, AP correspondent)--With American Airlines canceling dozens of flights every day, passengers with fall travel plans maywonder if they should make a change. AP correspondent Shirley Smith reports. (21 Sep 2012)
<<CUT *185 (09/21/12)>> 00:29
APPHOTO ILMG104: Captain Mike McClellan, ORD Domicile Chairman of the Allied Pilots Association left, joins over 200 American Airline pilots marching on a picket line at O'Hare International Airport, (ORD), Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 in Chicago. Pilots and other employees are unhappy with American because the airline has cut jobs and benefits and changed work rules as it reorganizes while under bankruptcy protection. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) (20 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO ILMG104 (09/20/12)>>
