"Pilot Givebacks Total Billions" -- Yet Execs Get Millions?

On the same day American Airlines parent company AMR Corp. announced a better-than-expected first quarter loss of "only" $375 million, the pilots union at the world's second largest airline questioned the "appropriateness" of rewarding executives with over $6 million in bonuses for this year.

"With this year’s bonuses of $6.5 million, American Airlines management has collected more than $300 million in stock-based bonuses during the past four years," reads a statement issued Tuesday by the Allied Pilots Association. "We question the appropriateness of these management bonuses, given the fact that our pilots continue working under the concessionary contract that we agreed to under duress six years ago. That concessionary contract has since resulted in several billion dollars in givebacks.

"In addition, today's pilot pay rates are virtually identical to those of 16 years ago, which means our pilots have suffered a major decline in purchasing power," the union writes.

Despite those cuts, American pilots are still near the top of the pay scale among legacy carriers... as cockpit crews and other airline workers throughout the industry saw their pay slashed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks eight years ago. Most of those workers saw their paychecks cut due to bankruptcy... but American's pilots are somewhat unique in that regard. They took cuts early, to stave off American having to file for Chapter 11.

The union says they gave until it hurt... but executives, led by AMR CEO Gerard Arpey, have greatly benefitted.

"To say we are disappointed that American Airlines’ executives continue enriching themselves at the expense of front-line workers would be a definite understatement," the union asserts. "We are likewise concerned that management has taken steps to make these stock-based bonuses more lucrative by significantly increasing the number of shares that will be awarded in future years.

"American Airlines would be better served if the executives redirected their energies toward repairing fractured relations with front-line employees, rather than devising new schemes to further enrich themselves," APA concluded.

FMI: www.aa.com, www.alliedpilots.org