And the technology gods have struck again… I shook my head when I read this article - my D is flying home to LA from NYC for Christmas but thankfully, not on American Airlines. I sincerely hope none of your loved ones flying American get stuck. Might be wise to check on alternate flights…
https://gizmodo.com/a-computer-error-let-every-american-airlines-pilot-take-1820847660
They have offered some pilots available to cover flights 150% of their allowable hourly pay. They will find volunteers. They also said rhe have backup pilots.
Younger son and his girlfriend are flying American from the Midwest to New England. I’ll be watching this closely and may end up taking an unexpected road trip.
Sister in law and her kids are flying American from Texas to our small airport in CA. They will probably prioritize the pilots they have to high-volume flights where possible.
DH and I are flying American to WI to see both sons and one GF. I’m gonna be really pissed if this doesn’t happen. So will our house- and dog-sitter.
Glad DD’s American flight is on December 14! Geez.
They have several weeks to figure it out. It will likely be a non issue. But, TBH, I am glad to see some other stuff in the news today. Tired of the bad behavior of boys in positions of power.
My first thought was that the Russian hackers were up to some new tricks. So glad that we aren’t flying that week!
We are flying a different airline.
Pilots can’t be assigned willy nilly to any aircraft in their fleet. They have certain equipment they are certified/rated on so that definitely does add a layer of complexity to the whole thing.
So who was the programmer(?) who screwed this up?
Surprisingly, despite this major SNAFU, AAL stock is up today more than the market as a whole, currently around 2.3% and as high as a 4% increase during the trading day.
I forgot that my parents as well as my sister are flying to and from Maine on American during the affected period. The AA website says that only a few hundred flights are still without pilots at this point.
Call me a skeptic but I think that the threat of no flights on Christmas is a bunch of hooey. Yes something got messed up with the schedule and there was a snafu. But I think that this is a ploy by the union to demand more pay for the holiday. The union has the company over a barrel and is laughing all the way to the bank.
No worries, there will be no cancellations. That’s my bet.
As I said upthread, it will be a non-issue. They are offering to pay overtime, which is reasonable.
Sounds like its already resolved.
I don’t know. It might be a problem, it depends. The computer glitch allowed any pilot who wanted (who would be just about everyone) to get those days off. And getting people to fly around Christmas is going to be tough. They have a number of reserves, but not near enough to cover everything. 150% pay will get some people to cover trips, but it isn’t enough to get people to fly over Christmas. The company really needs to talk to the union to offer additional premium pay if needed. They can’t do anything not contractual, and 150% is certainly not enough for people who thought they had Christmas off with their families to entice them to work at that time.
AA may claim it’s resolved, but the pilots talking about the huge number of trips in open time tells a different story. I would be wary of scheduling something right around Christmas, if I have a choice. If the trip is scheduled, not much you can do…except consider a backup plan.
On a brighter note, if you’re looking for a job, AA is looking for a new chief of crew scheduling.
What would they normally pay for flying on Christmas day? Wouldn’t there be a holiday bonus?
Perhaps there are some exceptions but pilots don’t normally get paid extra for working on holidays. They bid on schedules and it is seniority based by position e.g. pilot, co-pilot. You pay your dues. If you’re down the totem pole, you pretty much know there is a chance you’ll be flying on the big holidays.
Of course, working on December 25 may not be as big a deal to pilots of non-Christian religions, or some Orthodox Christian churches.