So Much for sticking around to 65

Hopeful

Veteran
Dec 21, 2002
5,998
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143 American Airlines pilots retired Thursday
Falling value of stocks cited for the unusually high number
07:24 AM CST on Friday, February 1, 2008
By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
American Airlines Inc. said 143 pilots retired Thursday, an unusually high monthly number that the carrier says was caused by the falling stock market, as pilots decided to lock in the value of retirement plans.
In Dallas-Fort Worth, union officials told pilots that 56 of their locally based colleagues had retired.
Anticipating the retirements, the carrier last month canceled 28 flights that it had intended to operate in February, mostly on long-distance international routes that used American's newest and largest airplanes, the Boeing 777.
"Although this represents an unusual number of retirements, it is about on par with what we anticipated," American spokesman Sue Gordon said Thursday. "We made the decision to cancel a limited number of select flights in February. These cancellations represent a small fraction of our February schedule."
She said American has notified customers on the affected flights and is trying to accommodate them on other flights.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and will make further adjustments, if needed," she said.
Pilots' view
The Allied Pilots Association, engaged in contract talks with the airline, has blamed the cancellations on what it calls management's unwise decisions to keep staffing as low as possible.
"As we have been warning for months, AMR management's inept decision-making in manning this airline has brought the current industry pilot shortage to the doorstep of AA," pilots were told in the union's weekly newsletter.
"The signs are all over the February schedule, with advance cancellations of sequences, reductions in city pair frequencies, pleadings for pilots to defer their February vacations, up to 150 projected early retirements estimated for Feb. 1, and creative scheduling and sequence-building to circumvent FAA safety regulations," the union said.
Ms. Gordon said the airline has called on more than 250 management pilots, including those who usually are in the cockpit only to evaluate the performance of regular pilots, to fly trips as needed.
"We feel comfortable that we have sufficient pilots to operate what we have scheduled," she said.
Age changes
In the past, the airline might average 20 to 25 pilots retiring each month as they reached age 60, the federally established age for mandatory retirement.
But Congress raised the limit to age 65 in December, throwing uncertainty into American's planning.
Pilots now can fly another five years, but the decline in the stock market in late 2007 and early 2008 apparently is causing a lot of pilots to take their money and run.
Pilots can lock in the value of their B Plan pension three months in advance of retirement and then choose on their announced retirement date to go ahead and retire or withdraw their notice.
With the stock market falling and at much lower values now than on Oct. 31, many more pilots who put in for retirement three months ago are carrying through with those intentions, the airline said.
The B Plan, whose value fluctuates with the stock market, is handled by financial managers American Beacon Advisors Inc. American Beacon and American are both units of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp.
New proposal
On Thursday, American Airlines officials proposed at the negotiating table that American eliminate the B Plan in favor of the pilots' 401(k). Each pilot's current B Plan balance and the company contribution of 11 percent of a pilot's eligible pay would go into the 401(k) instead.
American spokeswoman Tami McLallen said the pilots would get the same money they get now and could choose to have American Beacon invest the funds, much the same as the investment manager does with their B Plan money, or pick the other investment choices in the 401(k).
Moving to the 401(k) would reduce administrative costs and simplify matters for both the airline and pilots and give pilots more flexibility in managing their retirement money, she said.
But it would eliminate the 90-day window flexibility upon retirement.
An Allied Pilots Association spokesman said the union would review the proposal before commenting.
In addition to the B Plan, American's pilots also participate in the A Plan, a defined-benefit pension.
AMR shares rose 84 cents Thursday to $13.94.
 
Sounds like good news. The pilots get their look-back for their huge pension and pilots retiring means more will have to be recalled. Short-term schedule disruptions are a small price to pay. Besides, it's only February. Not like it's the peak travel season.
 
Sounds like good news. The pilots get their look-back for their huge pension and pilots retiring means more will have to be recalled. Short-term schedule disruptions are a small price to pay. Besides, it's only February. Not like it's the peak travel season.


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FWAAA,
With "Everything Else" that going on, (or about to go on), plus this signal from the pilots, the shitty stock price, and Jet-A up in the "stratosphere", I get a fairly strong feeling(call it a warm feeling) that the AMR/BOD's may correctly decipher the "tea leaves" in front of them, AND instruct Arpey to Spend WHATEVER it takes, to fix ALL of AA's current And "FUTURE" problems, "once and for all"

This "may" be something that the BOD's had already drawn up as a plan..."D or E", NEVER expecting that NOW might be the time to USE IT !!!

You and I "may" find ourselves in a "Giddy" situation in the fairly soon Future :up: :up: :up:
 
Ms. Gordon said the airline has called on more than 250 management pilots, including those who usually are in the cockpit only to evaluate the performance of regular pilots, to fly trips as needed.
"We feel comfortable that we have sufficient pilots to operate what we have scheduled," she said.

Is it true that management pilots can fly???

This violates no cotractual language???
 
Is it true that management pilots can fly???

This violates no cotractual language???

There isn't 250 "management" pilots to begin with. Probably 90% of that number are APA members who are Check Captains that due simulator and line training. The majority of them are just as "underwhelmed" about the direction of things as the average line pilot. These guys are far from any "management" label.

There are a small number of others such as Chief Pilots and other Flight Academy pilots who are considered "management", and have some among them who drink their "Kool-AAid" in Costco sized portions, but their flying is addressed in our contract. Any flying hours they do is divied up to the line pilots as extra pay at regular rates by some formula I've never figured out.
 
There isn't 250 "management" pilots to begin with. Probably 90% of that number are APA members who are Check Captains that due simulator and line training. The majority of them are just as "underwhelmed" about the direction of things as the average line pilot. These guys are far from any "management" label.

There are a small number of others such as Chief Pilots and other Flight Academy pilots who are considered "management", and have some among them who drink their "Kool-AAid" in Costco sized portions, but their flying is addressed in our contract. Any flying hours they do is divied up to the line pilots as extra pay at regular rates by some formula I've never figured out.

Don't they have to make 3 landings a quarter? Also, didn't this happen several years ago and AA paid BIG $$s to have the pilots delay leaving?
 
Such as?

Please explain.

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Simple,

#1. Get all the contracts done. Generous contracts in exchange for long term contracts.

#1a. The World is only so big. With Boeing A/c that can serve virtually any 2 city pairs in the world, "Make the necessary MOVES" that can allow the HIGHLY sought after International Busnessman Seamless travel, on TOTAL AA metal !!

It's NOT an Impossible equation !!!
 
#1. Not impossible, but somewhat impractical. You've got a militant APA leadership who has sold people on the idea of 30% raises. That ain't gonna happen because AMR isn't going to write checks they know are going to eventually bounce.

#1a. oneworld already provides a fairly seamless travel experience for the full-fare traveler, and quite frankly, AA would have a hard time matching the level of quality that QF and CX offer. The highly sought after international businessmen and women already have the ability to earn AA miles on those carriers, so why throw more metal into the air?

Some markets can justify both carriers (i.e. NRT with AA & JL, and LHR with AA & BA) because AA already has a decent position in those markets, and there's enough traffic to support four and five carriers. But on the ultra-long-hauls, AA's lost twice already to SYD and AKL. Not much sense playing fourth place catchup (behind UA and NZ) when you're already aligned with the 800 lb gorilla down under.
 
#1. Not impossible, but somewhat impractical. You've got a militant APA leadership who has sold people on the idea of 30% raises. That ain't gonna happen because AMR isn't going to write checks they know are going to eventually bounce.

#1a. oneworld already provides a fairly seamless travel experience for the full-fare traveler, and quite frankly, AA would have a hard time matching the level of quality that QF and CX offer. The highly sought after international businessmen and women already have the ability to earn AA miles on those carriers, so why throw more metal into the air?

Some markets can justify both carriers (i.e. NRT with AA & JL, and LHR with AA & BA) because AA already has a decent position in those markets, and there's enough traffic to support four and five carriers. But on the ultra-long-hauls, AA's lost twice already to SYD and AKL. Not much sense playing fourth place catchup (behind UA and NZ) when you're already aligned with the 800 lb gorilla down under.


Correction,

Not raises.

A pay restoration.

1992 pay rates, adjusted for inflation... no raise involved. Just catching back up. (and not making up...)
 
Correction,

Not raises.

A pay restoration.

1992 pay rates, adjusted for inflation... no raise involved. Just catching back up. (and not making up...)

Nice semantics. In the event of a water landing . . .

You could call a tax a temporary refund adjustment if it makes you feel better, but a rose by any other name . . .
 
Others have stated that AMR is prepositioning themselves towards a "pre-packaged" Bankruptcy filing...

DAL experienced heavy Pilot retirements in the 18 months leading up to their eventual filing. We've all read of the recent bailout by the pilot corps given the nature of their contract with AA...God Bless and God Speed to all.

Given the shortage of parts in the field stations, is it probable that AMR has reached a pre-packaged BK agreement with suppliers that will allow AMR to file with a MINIMUM of flack from the ceditors committee?

Supporting the view is the report that employees at AFW TAESL were recently provided a BBQ restricted to TAESL Employees only in a significant departure from the norm of operations. That coupled to the recent AWST revelation that RR has landed contracts worth $1.5B in TRENT work.

FEDEX recently was reported to be in talks with DHL for a purchase of the entire operation. Given the questionable EPA "green card" for TULE and the purchase of a waiver for EPA conditins in MCIE: AFW is the best purchase price sell for AMR.

Whither TAESL, goes AFW?

The TWU has only TA'ed the articles with respect to furlough, recall, rentention of pay, retained seniority and union security...why go there first if restoration of pay and benefits is the "first" objective of Little and Co.?