American Airlines pilots’ union on Wednesday said its board of directors rejected a tentative agreement for a new contract, the latest in a series of setbacks in labor talks across major US airlines. The Allied Pilots Association, which represents roughly 15,000 American Airlines pilots, said its board voted against the tentative deal 15-5. The proposal called for 12% raises for pilots on the date of contract signing, plus 5% after one year, and 2% after two years, according to a copy of the agreement in principal. American didn’t immediately comment. The rejection comes a day after United Airlines pilots turned down a deal that would have included roughly 15% raises. Labor unions are pushing for higher wages and better schedules, among other improvements, in new labor deals. The Covid-19 pandemic had put labor talks on hold as airlines focused on making it through a massive drop in travel demand. “We cannot vote to approve a [tentative agreement] that does not adequately address the quality-of-life items of our line pilots,” union representatives based at American’s Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport hub said in a note to pilots before the vote. “The Company has returned a proposal that is not only subpar in these areas, but it also demonstrates a complete lack of understanding how important these issues are for you.”<br/>
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Investigators believe a SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330-300 lost considerable altitude during an in-flight upset after one of the pilots nudged the sidestick during cruise, disconnecting the autopilot and pushing the jet into a descent. While the inquiry does not specify the reason for the “sharp nose-down input” by the first officer, who was flying, it refers to his being served a meal, but not handing control of the aircraft to the other pilot – a cruise pilot in the left-hand seat who was standing in for the resting captain. The aircraft had been cruising at 39,000ft over the Indian Ocean, west of Jakarta, during a service from Colombo to Sydney on 21 March last year. Some 3h into the flight the captain went to rest in the cabin, and the cruise pilot moved from the right-hand seat to the captain’s left-hand seat. He acted as the monitoring pilot, while a relief first officer took over as flying pilot in the right-hand seat. The incident occurred a few minutes after the changeover. Analysis shows the first officer’s sidestick deflected nose-down for several seconds, sufficient to trigger involuntary disconnection of the autopilot and generate a master warning. The twinjet transitioned from 2.8° nose-up pitch to 1.1° nose-down and began to descend. Story has full details.<br/>