American Airlines to use nonunion pilots for some test flights, drawing criticism

American Airlines this month will stop using unionized pilots to perform certain test flights, a move the aviators’ union argues would reduce the independence of these reviews. Starting Thursday, American will only assign nonunion company pilots to test aircraft that have been in long-term storage or that have recently undergone heavy maintenance, before customers fly on them. Previously, a group of specially trained union pilots performed the tasks along with nonunion company pilots. That union test pilot group had shrunk to about six people from 24 in 2016 as some left the union to become company technical pilots, retired or went back to flying passengers, American said. “For the past five years, American has been transitioning our test flying to these skilled pilots and fleet experts to better manage the unpredictable nature of test flights, which are dictated by the completion of maintenance and do not follow a set schedule,” American Airlines spokeswoman Sarah Jantz said. But the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American’s roughly 15,000 pilots, opposes the measure. “The foundation of AA’s strong safety culture has been a commitment to ensuring that independent, protected, and unintimidated pilots are conducting these critical safety check flights versus management pilots who may have a conflict of interest,” Eric Ferguson, an American Airlines captain and APA’s president, said in a Feb. 19 message to members. “Any move to crack that foundation will be met with the strongest opposition by APA.”<br/>