The Standard Our Profession Demands — Whatever the Conditions

During the past five days, American Airlines pilots have repeatedly been asked to operate through significant operational dysfunction. You have done so with professionalism, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to safety, often without the support and responsiveness the situation required.

That professionalism has been evident throughout the system. You have reported prepared, exercised sound judgment, and supported one another and our passengers while the airline’s staffing, systems, and authority failed to support the operation.

We have heard from you, and the frustration and anger expressed by pilots across the system is real, widespread, and justified. Pilots were left without answers, without meaningful support, and without access to anyone empowered to resolve problems that directly affected their ability to operate safely and comply with the contract. That is not an acceptable operating model. It is not a weather problem. It is a management failure.

As the company works to restore the operation, we want to remind everyone to remain vigilant in following the FARs and the contract. Shortcuts or so-called creative solutions that may appear expedient in the moment must always pass the test of legality and contractual compliance.

We have also heard from many of you about delays of hours or even days to have sequences repaired, often after you have already returned to domicile. These failed continuities are preventing pilots from trading future sequences or picking up flying that would otherwise help stabilize the operation. Please document any instance in which you would have been awarded a sequence but were bypassed due to an unrepaired schedule.

The storm this weekend was not unexpected. Unfortunately, neither was the resulting chaos in our operation. Severe winter weather is a known operational challenge, and preparation and staffing are management responsibilities. Yet pilots experienced multi-hour hold times with Crew Scheduling and Crew Tracking, only to be told issues would be addressed when resources became available. Two-hour waits to reach an IOC duty pilot who lacked the authority to resolve the problem at hand; six-hour delays between requesting a hotel and having someone even assigned to review the request through ECS — these failures occurred while pilots were actively trying to comply with procedures and do the right thing, often without timely information or meaningful support.

We want to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of our APA committee volunteers and staff. Throughout this disruption, they worked tirelessly to assist pilots in navigating delays, displacements, and uncertainty. Since Friday, a group of volunteers and staff has fielded questions around the clock, responding to thousands of phone calls, emails, text messages, and member inquiries. Many of these requests came from pilots who were lost in the system, unable to reach Crew Scheduling or Crew Tracking, or routed to duty pilots without the authority to assist. These volunteers and staff stepped in where the system did not, and their efforts mattered.

This is not solely about one weekend. It reflects an operation built to lag our peers even in ideal conditions — one that continues to prioritize short-term cost savings versus the investment required to function effectively when pressure is applied. The burden of these management shortcomings is repeatedly placed on pilots, who are expected to compensate for systemic shortcomings through professionalism alone.

Our pilots did — and continue to do — exactly what was expected under difficult circumstances. The same cannot be said of the systems and support designed to back them up. APA will pursue accountability where it belongs and press for meaningful improvements, while our pilots continue meeting the standard this profession demands.

In Unity,

FO Nick Silva
President

CA Chris Torres
Vice President

FO Philip Johnson
Secretary-Treasurer