American Airlines' long-standing mechanics dispute may be in the past
American Airlines and the union representing its mechanics have reached a new labor accord that may end the disagreements that have plagued their relationship in recent years.
The carrier and the TWU-IAM Association have an agreement-in-principle on a new five-year contract covering the more than 31,000 staff, including American's mechanics, fleet service and stores employees, they said in separate statements Thursday.
The deal, which still must be finalized before being put to employees for a vote, includes wage and work rule improvements, as well as the integration of the still-separate American and US Airways' staff into a single group that would come more than six years after the carriers' merger.
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Early in 2019, an alleged work slowdown by mechanics and other staff forced American to cancel around 1,000 flights through May. A court ordered the slowdown halted in June, though American claimed the impact continued into July.
The alleged slowdown coupled with the impact of the Boeing 737 MAX grounding took a bite out of American's financial and operational performance through last summer.
American and the TWU-IAM group have been in discussions over a new agreement since 2015. However, differing maintenance philosophies, for example American traditionally did much of its work in house while US Airways outsourced more, proved a drag on talks.
American was ranked fifth in on-time arrival performance among mainline North American carriers in 2019, according to flight-data and analytics firm Cirium. The airline saw 79.9% of its flights arrive on time, nearly six-points lower than market leader Delta Air Lines.
Related: American and Delta were the world’s largest airlines in 2019
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Why We Chose It
Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.Pros
- Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
- First checked bag free
Cons
- Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees