As airline relies on negotiating concessions from employees, departures are delayed and maintenance requests are up

Delays, lost luggage and confusing information are the unfortunate trademark of modern air travel, but American Airlines has reached a new record in airline disservice in the past month in what seems to be an intentional move by employees.

Back in November, American Airlines filed for bankruptcy after losing $10bn in a 10-year period. Its money-saving bankruptcy restructuring plan relies heavily on negotiating further concessions from flight attendants, maintenance workers and pilots.

Those pilots have become increasingly frustrated with American Airlines management and has been in and out of contract negotiations with the company. The day after pilots learned a judge had thrown out their contact, the amount of on-time flights dropped from 77.9% to 46.5%.

On his aviation blog, Dallas Morning News’ Terry Maxon suggested that some pilots may be intent on sabotaging the airline. An an unidentified American Airlines pilot said on Maxon’s blog that AA pilots were filing maintenance reports for minor faults that would otherwise have been left until the plane was in a more convenient location for repair. The pilot wrote:

If you ran your car like American Airlines has been running for the last two weeks, if your car was leaking oil on the drive, write it up. Windshield wipers streaking, write it up. Shocks squeaking, write it up. Car pulls slightly to the left, write it up. Your wife would be thrilled … until the bill came in.

The pilots’ union has said it is not organizing intentional service disruptions, but American Airlines believes otherwise. On Wednesday, senior vice-president of people Denise Lynn sent an email to the APA that said:

I am writing to express my concern about mounting evidence that certain pilots are engaging in an unlawful, concerted effort to damage the Company. This unlawful conduct is taking the form of discretionary pilot actions including such things as delaying departures for unnecessary checks, increased and late-filed maintenance write-ups, increased block times due to slow taxiing, and circuitous routings. This behavior has been accompanied by statements from pilots indicating that the activity is intended to ‘send a message’ to the Company to express displeasure with AMR management, the Court’s Section 1113 decision and the absence of a new consensual agreement with the Company.

On Monday, a report in the New York Post detailed how a loose row of seats on a Miami bound flight caused an emergency landing at the city’s Kennedy airport. The request for a diversion wasn’t directly linked to the alleged sabotage action, but an APA spokesman was quick to respond to the incident.

“With turbulence, you have to be cautious. That’s why everyone has to stow everything under the seat to prevent loose objects from flying around the cabin – and you’ve got a whole row of seats unbolted,” a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association told the Post. “It’s a head-scratcher, the first time I’ve heard of it in 24 years with American.”

All of which has led to commentators giving some sharp advice to the airline:

You, American Airlines, should no longer be flying across the Atlantic. You do not have the know-how. You do not have the equipment. And your employees have clearly lost interest in the endeavor. Like the country whose name graces the hulls of your flying ships, you are exhausted and shorn of purpose. You need to stop.

And to passengers:

You seriously have to stop traveling on American Airlines. Seriously. If you’re booking some travel somewhere, book it somewhere else. If your company has some relationship with American that gives them a strong preference for you to fly with American, still book it somewhere else.