Hundreds of off-duty Delta Airlines pilots plan to picket this week to demand a pay rise and better flight schedules – as another 500 flights are canceled today.
The Air Line Pilots Association last night claimed its nearly 14,000 members are working longer hours despite airlines canceling thousands of trips.
Delta Airlines pilots plan to begin picketing Thursday at several major airports, including LAX, JFK and Atlanta, which are among the hardest-hit in terms of cancellations and delays.
The announcement comes amid a spike in flight cancellations and delays. As of Tuesday morning, airlines had already canceled more than 500 flights and delayed another 1,200, according to FlightAware.
The average annual salary for Delta pilots in the United States is about $157,912, according to Indeed, which is 119 percent higher than the national average.
Passengers queue today before their flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to check in their bags
A man says goodbye and hugs his daughter before her flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta today
Passengers queue to check in before their flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, June 28, 2022, as airports record an increase in cancellations and delays
The announcement comes amid a spike in flight cancellations and delays. As of Tuesday morning, airlines had already canceled more than 500 flights and delayed another 1,200, according to FlightAware. Pictured: Atlanta today
This chart shows how many flights have been canceled at US airports in the past few days
FlightAware’s Misery Map shows cancellations and delays by airport on June 28, 2022
Pilots have complained that thinly staffed airlines are asking them to take too many flights, with a growing number of pilots reporting fatigue.
The FAA has admitted it is understaffed, particularly at a key Florida air traffic control center, which has led to a deterioration in service quality and an increase in delays and cancellations.
The pilots plan pickets instead of strikes on the days they are not supposed to work to draw attention to the problems.
Federal laws create a long and difficult process before airline workers can legally go on strike.
“Delta pilots last signed a new contract in 2016 and are currently flying under labor rules and pay rates negotiated over six years ago,” Jason Ambrosi, a Delta pilot and union official, said in the statement.
“It has been two and a half years since our contract became flexible and three and a half years since the Delta pilots last received a raise. Meanwhile, our quality of life has declined due to management’s unwillingness to plan the airline properly,” he continued.
“In June, the union took an unprecedented step by giving a vote of no confidence to the management teams of Flight Operations, Crew Resources and Flight Training & Standards over the scheduling issues that continue to plague both customers and pilots.”
“As a long-time shareholder of our airline, seeing our operational reliability suffer is bad business and puts the Delta brand at risk,” Ambrosi said.
An airport employee directs passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta today
Pilots have complained that thinly staffed airlines are asking them to take too many flights, with a growing number of pilots reporting fatigue. Pictured: Atlanta today
Passengers cross the street at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta today
Passengers enter security prior to their flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport today
Federal laws create a long and difficult process before airline workers can legally go on strike. Pictured: Passengers today
The planned protest comes just before the July 4th weekend, when 3.5 million Americans are expected to fly, according to the AAA. Ambrosi says the union is “concerned that our customers’ plans will be disrupted again”.
“The perfect storm is coming. Demand is back and pilots are putting in record amounts of overtime but still seeing our customers stranded and their vacation plans ruined,” Ambrosi said.
“When delays or cancellations occur, pilots share our passengers’ frustration,” he continued.
‘Our goal is to secure an industry-leading contract. But if management doesn’t get serious, we will go the way to get the contract we deserve,” he concluded.
Delays and cancellations cost airlines a hefty sum, with delays costing airlines around $74 per minute, or $4,500 per hour.
Violating delay rules on the tarmac means airlines are being charged $27,500 per passenger, meaning a plane carrying 200 passengers could end up being fined $5.5 million.
For passengers, delays can cost around $47 of their time. In 2018, before the pandemic, delays and cancellations cost passengers nearly $28 billion.
Airlines have no legal obligation to compensate passengers for a cancellation or delay.
Passengers have taken to social media to complain about how the delays and cancellations have affected them, with many claiming they are “nervous about flying”.
After the coronavirus pandemic brought the airline industry to a halt, pilots played a vital role in getting airlines up and running again, although their salaries have not increased since negotiations in 2016.
According to a Department of Transportation report, US consumers filed more than three times the number of complaints against US airlines in April than before the pandemic as on-time arrivals fell.
Earlier this month, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg called a virtual meeting with chief executives from major US airlines to discuss thousands of recent flight cancellations and delays over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
He urged airlines to ensure they can reliably operate planned summer flight schedules.
Airlines for America, which represents the largest US airlines, said Friday it wanted to know the FAA’s staffing schedules for the July 4 holiday weekend “so that we can plan accordingly.”
The industry group’s comments could serve as a precautionary defense should airlines suffer thousands of canceled and delayed flights again over the bank holiday weekend, when travel is expected to hit new pandemic-era highs.
“The industry is actively and quickly doing everything it can to create a positive customer experience, as it is in an airline’s intrinsic interest to keep customers happy so they return for future business,” said Nicholas Calio, president of the trade group, in a letter to Buttigieg.