And of course the union argues these pilots should all get to stay home.
Via Business Insider:
American Airlines is having a nightmare before Christmas.
More than 15,000 American flights between December 17-31 do not yet have pilots because the airline accidentally gave all of its pilots that time off, according to the Allied Pilots Association.
The issue stems from a glitch in the company’s scheduling system, the union said.
“Basically there’s a crisis at American for manning the cockpits,” Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the union, told Reuters.
Pilots were told about the scheduling problem on Friday, the union said.
A spokesperson for the airline told Bloomberg that the carrier is offering up 150% of its regular hourly wage to pilots willing to pick up certain flights.
“We are working through this to make sure we take care of our pilots and get our customers where they need to go over the holiday,” the American Airlines spokesman said.
But the union says that this actually violates its labor pact.