As another 500 flights are cancelled today, hundreds of off-duty Delta Airlines pilots are preparing to picket this week in order to demand better pay and schedules.
In spite of airlines canceling thousands of flights, the Air Line Pilots Association said Wednesday night that its roughly 14,000 members are working greater hours.
At a number of significant airports, including LAX, JFK, and Atlanta—some of the most impacted in terms of cancellations and delays—Delta Airlines pilots intend to begin picketing on Thursday.
The news coincides with an increase in airline delays and cancellations. According to FlightAware, airlines had already delayed 1,200 flights and cancelled more than 500 as of Tuesday morning.
According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a Delta Pilot in the United States is about $157,912, which is 119 percent more than the national average.
With more pilots expressing weariness, airlines that are short on employees have drawn criticism for asking their pilots to work too many flights.
The FAA has acknowledged that it is understaffed, particularly in a crucial air traffic control facility in Florida, which has resulted in a decline in service quality and an increase in delays and cancellations.
On the days they are not scheduled to work, the pilots want to picket instead of strike to draw attention to the problems.
Before airline employees may legally go on strike, federal law establishes a protracted and challenging process.
According to a statement from Jason Ambrosi, a Delta pilot and union leader, “The Delta pilots last signed a new contract in 2016 and are still flying under work restrictions and pay rates established more than six years ago.”
It has been 2.5 years since our contract became amendable and 3.5 years since the last salary increase for Delta pilots. Meanwhile, the management’s failure to adequately schedule the aircraft has reduced our quality of life,’ he concluded.
The management teams of Flight Operations, Crew Resources, and Flight Training & Standards were subject to a vote of “no confidence” from the union in June as a result of the ongoing scheduling problems that affect both passengers and pilots.
Ambrosi stated, “Seeing our operational reliability erode is poor business and puts the Delta brand at risk.” Ambrosi is a long-term partner in our airline.
The protest is scheduled for the weekend of July 4, when 3.5 million Americans are anticipated to fly, according to AAA. According to Ambrosi, the union is “concerned that our clients’ plans will once again be disturbed.”
“The ideal storm is coming together.” Our customers are still being left stranded and having their vacation plans derailed despite the fact that demand is returning and pilots are flying record numbers of overtime, Ambrosi added.
“The pilots share in our guests’ aggravation when delays or cancellations occur,” he stated.
“Our objective is to secure a contract that leads the industry. However, if management doesn’t take this seriously, we’ll go to great lengths to secure the contract we deserve,’ he said.
Airlines incur significant costs as a result of delays and cancellations; delays, on average, cost $4,500 per hour or $74 per minute.
Airlines are fined $27,500 per passenger for breaking the tarmac delay limits, which translates to a maximum fine of $5.5 million for a plane carrying 200 people.
Delays can cost travelers up to $47 in lost time. Prior to the epidemic in 2018, delays and cancellations cost travelers over $28 billion.
The law does not mandate that airlines pay passengers for cancellations or delays.
Many of the passengers who complained about the delays and cancellations on social media claimed they were “nervous to fly.”
Pilots were instrumental in reviving airlines after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the aviation sector, despite the fact that their salary has not grown since contract discussions in 2016.
According to a Department of Transportation survey, Americans complained about American airlines more than three times as much in April compared to pre-pandemic levels as on-time arrivals declined.
In order to examine the tens of thousands of recent flight cancellations and delays over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg convened a virtual meeting with the heads of the major U.S. airlines earlier this month.
He advised airlines to make sure they could consistently run the summer schedules they had planned.
The major U.S. carriers’ association, Airlines for America, stated on Friday that it needs to be aware of the FAA’s staffing intentions for the Fourth of July holiday weekend “so we can plan properly.”
In case airlines once more see thousands of canceled and delayed flights over the holiday weekend, when traffic is anticipated to reach new pandemic-era highs, the business group’s statements could act as a preventive measure.
According to Nicholas Calio, president of the trade association, “the industry is actively and nimbly doing all necessary to generate a great customer experience since it is in an airline’s intrinsic interest to keep customers pleased, so they return for future business.”