American Airlines Triples Pay for Pilots

American Airlines is agreeing to a premium pay deal with its pilots. 

It comes in the wake of a scheduling glitch that left thousands of cockpits understaffed.

A computer malfunction in the airlines scheduling program Saturday allowed pilots to take time off this month, when the airline was already counting on them to fly.

According to the pilots Union at American the snafu left upwards of 12,000 flights without one or both required pilots. Now, the airline has agreed to pay its pilots triple their normal rate to fly those flights and it will pay permanent double-time for pilots who fly on peak days which is often holiday travel periods.

The union and the airline started negotiating a new contract in 2019, but the pandemic derailed the effort.

The president of the pilots union said in a message to members that he hopes this agreement can be a springboard to reach a new labor deal.