Pilot contract negotiations with airlines turn sour

US airlines are profitable again, and their pilots want a bigger cut of the industry’s recovery. The biggest airlines in the country are negotiating new pilot contracts, and talks with unions so far haven’t gone well. This week alone, unions representing about 30,000 pilots combined at American Airlines and United Airlines rejected potential contracts. The tensions come as the industry rebounds from the Covid-19 pandemic, which devastated travel demand and drove airlines to record losses of around $35b in 2020. The pandemic also derailed contract talks with pilots, flight attendants and other groups, setting the stage for widespread negotiations throughout the industry this year. Airlines are facing the dual challenge of combatting a shortage of pilots while keeping a lid on costs. Meanwhile pilot unions are demanding higher pay and better schedules, on the heels of a roller coaster two years. Both sides are staring down the risks of persistently high inflation. “We’ve been crushed by inflation. The money is coming, there’s no question about it,” said Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines Boeing 737 captain and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents some 15,000 pilots at the carrier. “What this is really about is the work-life balance and restoring reliability of airlines — and doing that not on the backs of pilots.” New labor deals are sure to drive up costs at airlines, analysts say. Employee compensation rivals fuel as carriers’ biggest expense. But pilots are in short supply and aviators at smaller carriers have received huge pay increases in response, so securing deals is in the major airlines’ interest as they fight over aviators. Pilot pay varies widely based on experience and type of aircraft but senior wide-body captains at major airlines can make more than $300,000. “I have a feeling right now that this is as good as it gets from a bargaining position” for pilots, said Raymond James airline analyst Savanthi Syth.<br/>