US: Pilots demand a larger slice of airline pie

Last year, pilots at Delta and Southwest overwhelmingly rejected proposed contracts and then elected union leaders who led them through earlier contract scuffles. The message was loud and clear: It’s time for payback after years of sacrifice. After pilots at American, the largest US carrier, agreed to a long-term deal with hefty raises a year ago, some 34,000 pilots at the three next-biggest carriers moved to collect a larger part of now-record profits flowing into US airline coffers. That strategy, based on pattern bargaining that unions have used for decades across many industries, is now taking shape. “We’ve made some good strides, but they’ve not been enough,” said John Malone, chairman of the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). A Boeing 767 captain based in Atlanta, Malone took office in September, assuming the role he held more than a decade ago. Across the US, the most senior pilots earn, on average, $209,000 per year, while new first officers make an average of $55,000. Their unions want double-digit raises. Delta pilots consider their last true wage increase as dating back to May 2004, under the final contract negotiated before jet fuel prices spiked and the financial crisis sent the industry tumbling. Ultimately, United, Delta, Northwest, and American all filed for bankruptcy, triggering tremendous financial pain for employees, not to mention a wave of airline consolidation. That was then. Today, the remaining four large airlines are posting robust profits, despite tepid US economic growth and a drop in average domestic fares. Pilot wages have returned to levels not seen since the peak earning years of 2000-2001—though minus roughly 15 years of inflation, said Kit Darby, a consultant who tracks pilot pay.<br/>