American Airlines Facing Severe Pilot Shortage in December
Don't you hate it when the boss asks you to cancel your vacation plans? Well, a lot of American Airlines pilots are potentially facing this situation after a bug in the pilot scheduling system allowed too many pilots to request time off around the holidays. Now, the world's largest airline is scrambling to get enough pilots for flights departing just weeks from now.
According to a Allied Pilots Association (APA) press release Tuesday, AA management explained the situation to the pilot union last Friday. The union notes that currently "thousands of flights currently do not have pilots assigned to fly them during the upcoming critical holiday period." The union isn't happy with the carrier's attempts to fix the situation, filing a grievance indicating that the airline's proposed solution violates its labor contract.
Bloomberg reports that "more than 15,000 flights" don't have sufficient crew for the crucial holiday travel period between December 17 and 31. The airline's pilot scheduling system originally showed that there was plenty of coverage for these flights, allowing too many pilots to request time off for the holidays.
An AA spokesperson confirmed the situation and noted that the airline is "working diligently to address the issue." The airline is offering extra pay to pilots who pick up flights during this time — 150% of their hourly rate. The spokesperson notes that this increased rate is "as much as [American Airlines] are allowed to pay them per the contract."
At this point, the airline is optimistic that things will work out. AA expects to "avoid cancellations this holiday season" and "will work with the APA to take care of [its] pilots and ensure [it] get[s] [its] customers to where they need to go over the holidays."
If the airline can't solve the problem soon, American Airlines will follow Ryanair in having to issue mass flight cancellations due to a scheduling error.
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| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
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Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month