Bracing for Sub-Prime Day 

Supporting Amazon’s two-day delivery guarantee since 2016, Air Transport International (ATI) is the largest and arguably most important link in the complex chain by which Jeff Bezos’s Amazon.com enterprise keeps its global customer base provisioned in perpetuity with useless trinkets and saddled with crippling debt.

ATI pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) have voiced concerns over Amazon’s 11-12 July Prime Day sales event, setting forth their collective ability to perform to the standards expected of them by the e-commerce titan is likely to be compromised by understaffing. Year upon year, the Prime Day sale occasions the busiest period in Amazon’s fiscal year.

ATI ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC) Captain Mike Sterling stated: “Last year, we had more than five-hundred pilots on staff for Prime Day. This year, we have fewer than four-hundred pilots flying the line. It’s a competitive hiring environment for professional pilots, and ATI has fallen far behind due to its outdated pilot contract with subpar pay and benefits. A market-based contract is the only solution to stem attrition and maintain our high levels of performance.”

ALPA and ATI’s management have been negotiating revisions to the company’s pilot contract for upwards of three years. In March 2023, in accordance with the provisions of 1926’s Railway Labor Act, the parties engaged the assistance of the U.S. National Mediation Board for purpose of breaking the protracted stalemate. Regrettably, progress continues to prove elusive.

Captain Sterling added: “The ATI pilot group is proud to operate for Amazon Air and has consistently delivered top performance. We wish to continue to do so, but management refuses to provide the tools and resources we need to remain competitive. We are concerned about our ability to deliver the product Amazon and their customers expect with limited resources.”

FMI: www.alpa.org