Deal Offers Furlough Protections, Career Advancement Opportunities

The pilots of American Eagle and American Airlines reached a tentative agreement with their respective managements recently, that settles three outstanding disputes over the parties’ flow-through/ flow-back agreement.

Each pilot group is represented by separate unions. Pilots at American Eagle belong to the Air Line Pilots Association, while American's mainline pilots are represented by the Allied Pilots Association. American Eagle is a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR and provides feeder service to American Airlines, as well as point-to-point service in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The agreement provides career progression for a significant number of American Eagle pilots to American Airlines, while at the same time giving furlough protection for American Airlines' pilots. The agreement provides for American Airlines furloughed pilots to be recalled to American Airlines before American Eagle pilots can flow through to American Airlines, as well as the continued ability to obtain positions at American Eagle if there are further furloughs at American.

"We believe that if we can create a joint interest centered on career progression and a strong relationship with our mainline, we will be best positioned to address the existing disparity between mainline and regional pilot scope interests," said Herb Mark, master executive chairman of the Eagle pilot group. "We are pleased to have taken our second step towards that end."

"We believe that the goals we sought in this negotiation have been achieved, and that this agreement is in the best interests of American Airlines pilots," said Captain Lloyd Hill, president of the Allied Pilots Association. "We are also pleased at the mutual cooperation between the two unions in working towards this agreement. We look forward to fostering and further building the relationship between our two pilot groups."

This agreement also facilitates pilot recruitment at American Eagle by providing guaranteed movement in the pilot seniority list, bonus programs, incentives for pilot retention, and growth.

The parties are now working on crafting contract language, after which the tentative agreement will undergo the unions’ individual ratification processes.

FMI: www.alpa.org, www.alliedpilots.org