Yes, I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.
American Airlines is scrambling after a reported scheduling glitch accidentally gave too many of its pilots time off for the holidays — leaving 15,000 flights without enough crew.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
"As a result, thousands of flights currently do not have pilots assigned to fly them during the upcoming critical holiday period," it said.
Dennis Tajer, the group's spokesperson, told Bloomberg they estimate the number of affected flights at more than 15,000 in the critical holiday travel period of Dec. 17 to Dec. 31.
American Airlines declined to specify the cause of the scramble or exactly how many flights would be affected.
“We are working diligently to address the issue and expect to avoid cancellations this holiday season," said American Airlines in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "We are paying pilots who pick up certain open trips 150 percent of their hourly rate – as much as we are allowed to pay them per the contract."
However, the union has filed a grievance against the airline, stating this violates pilot contracts.
"Because management unilaterally created their solution in violation of the contract, neither [the union] nor the contract can guarantee the promised payment of the premium being offered," said the Allied Pilots Association in a statement.
"We will work with the APA to take care of our pilots and ensure we get our customers to where they need to go over the holidays,” said the airline in its statement.
Daniel Slim / AFP / Getty Images
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2imL7v7
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