Cancelled, Delayed flights pile up
American Airline flights across the United States have been delayed, at times, cancelled. Some believe it could be the fallout of a labor negotiation turned sour.
On Sunday a flight between Dallas and El Paso was cancelled. According to an American Airlines spokesperson it was a mechanical error that caused the cancellation. She told ABC-7 a fuel leak grounded the plane.
Meanwhile, American Airlines is threatening legal action. There is belief the pilots’ union is telling its members not to delay flights, if that’s what they’re doing.
Acting President Keith Wilson says the Allied Pilots Association has nothing to do with what American alleges is a work slowdown, causing many flights to be delayed or canceled.
If, as the company charges, pilots are dawdling by filing frivolous maintenance write-ups and flying circuitous routes, “that activity must cease immediately,” Wilson said in a memo to members. He said the union had responded quickly this month when rumors surfaced of pilots calling in sick to protest lack of a labor deal with American.
On Friday, the union cited “serious maintenance-related issues” that pilots have reported in the last several days, including a hydraulic leak from the main landing gear, overheating warnings and fuel seeping on to runways.
A spokesman for American, Bruce Hicks, said such reports were not unusual and didn’t explain the high number of maintenance write-ups that have caused the recent spike in delays and canceled flights.
On Friday afternoon, American Airlines scrubbed 39 flights, or 2 percent of its schedule, more cancelations than United, Delta, Southwest and US Airways combined. About 62 percent of American’s flights had arrived on time, compared with 81 percent to 93 percent at the other biggest airlines.
