United Airlines aircraft at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. (Getty photo)Getty
Pilots at United Airlines, who have been negotiating a new contract for nearly a year, say they have hit a snag regarding their scope clause, which determines how much flying can be outsourced.
“We started negotiations early and we were making good progress, but scope is a hold up,” union spokesman Greg Everhard, a Boeing 767 captain, said Friday.
The contract covering United’s 12,500 pilots became amendable Thursday. The carrier and the United chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, which have enjoyed a positive relationship over the past few years, agreed to start negotiations early in March 2018.
However, “Despite efforts to reach a seamless agreement, critical items remain between us and a final deal,” three dozen union leaders including United ALPA President Todd Insler wrote Thursday in a letter to members. “We will not be rushed into an agreement that does not meet the needs of membership simply for the sake of expediency.”
The gap between the parties reflects disagreement on the carrier’s effort to alter the scope clause, the letter said. Currently, the carrier is limited to flying 255 aircraft with 70 to 76 seats, smaller jets flown by pilots who work not for United but for one of the eight regional airlines that contracts to fly shorter routes.
“For many months, United’s senior leadership has publicly expressed their desire to change our [contractual] regional jet scope limitations,” the letter said. “In response to this rhetoric, the United pilots have stated loud and clear we have no interest in allowing management to expand their reliance on an outdated and flawed strategy of outsourcing.
“There are several easy and practical solutions that ensure robust feed to our network,” the letter said. “These innovative concepts would redefine United Airlines and the industry in a positive, meaningful way.”
United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy declined Friday to provide details on scope negotiations. “We continue to work with ALPA on issues that are important to the company and important to our pilots,” she said. “We will leave those discussions at the table.”
The current United contract pilot includes rates for pilots who fly 90 seat aircraft. Those pilots are paid $91 an hour and can fly 1,000 hours a year. Similar compensation of $91,000 annually is attainable at regional carriers because the continuing pilot shortage has forced such carriers to raise hourly pay and to offer signing bonuses and retention bonuses.
In general, pilot contract rates are related to the number of seats on the aircraft the pilot flies, so an aircraft with 70 to 76 seats would have a lower pay rate than an aircraft with 90 seats.
United President Scott Kirby is at the center of the carrier’s effort to expand the scope clause. Speaking at an investor conference in March, Kirby said he is intent on “driving higher connectivity and revenue quality” by providing more capacity from cities such as Columbia Mo., and Rochester Minn. to United hubs. Such routes can only be efficiently served by 76-seat regional jets, he said.
Kirby said adding 76-seaters is a “win-win” because feeding the mainline creates better opportunities for mainline pilots, but he noted, “I get why our pilots are really nervous about this – if I were a pilot, I’d be really nervous about it.”
The remarks provoked a response from Insler, who wrote in a March letter to pilots that “Despite the public statements from the company about needing ‘scope relief,’ they have the ability to add 76-seat aircraft under current [contract] language,” Insler wrote. “No relief is needed.”
United “can add 76-seaters tomorrow with no restrictions if they are flown by mainline pilots,” he said. “We have done the math and know that mainline United pilots can deliver the current 76-seat product with better economics, improved reliability and with a superior customer experience for our passengers, just as we do on our current fleets.”
In 2014, during contract talks with pilots at American Airlines, where he previously worked, Kirby also sought scope concessions. The reaction from American pilots then was similar to the reaction from United pilots today.
“Scope is a religious issue to pilots,” said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. “It’s so fundamental for our pilots that Mr. Kirby’s persistent scope concession requests almost undermined the trust and culture change he was trying to promote.”
Like United pilots, American pilots are also negotiating a new contract. But scope does not appear to be an issue. During American’s fourth quarter earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr was asked whether American Airlines Group will order more regional jets for the regional carriers it owns. Kerr said delivery of 15 regional jets in 2020 “will pretty close to max out our large RJ scope, so we don’t expect anymore.”
Last week, in a letter to APA members, President Don Carey said union priorities include improved scheduling, “contract repair, with a focus on items that were modified in bankruptcy,” and “industry-leading hourly pay rates and address gaps in compensation and benefits.”