Airline pilots are tired, unions say

DALLAS — After years of punishing schedules and longer workdays, airline pilots nationwide are increasingly grappling with fatigue, said union leaders representing pilots at dozens of airlines.

Fatigue was one of the major issues discussed at a summit of pilot union leaders this week in Dallas. The meeting was sponsored by the Allied Pilots Association, which represents pilots at Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, and the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association, which represents pilots at Dallas-based Southwest.

Union leaders said that bankrupt and financially weakened airlines have tightened schedules and reduced the amount of rest pilots have between flights.

“It’s like our pilots have been at war for five years now,” said John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at 41 airlines, including American Eagle. “We’re tired.”

Federal regulations prohibit pilots from working more than eight hours a day on the flight deck. But pilots also spend hours preparing for flights, completing reports after landing, and waiting at airports between departures, so their workdays can stretch far beyond the eight-hour maximum.

Labor leaders are hoping to tackle the problem by persuading lawmakers to update federal flight regulations to reduce fatigue. A measure pending in Congress would require a study of the issue. Individual unions may also attempt to improve pilot schedules through collective bargaining, although officials said they would prefer a change in the federal rules.

“We don’t want to compete with each other to see who can stay awake the longest in an airplane,” said Ralph Hunter, president of the Allied Pilots Association.

Union officials also insisted that they would demand that airlines restore pilot wages and benefits to pre-2001 levels. Most airlines cut pilot compensation deeply as they ran into financial turbulence.

Hunter said that American management has not responded to a pilot proposal that would boost wages by 30 percent. The union is in contracts talks with the airline, although the contract isn’t open to changes until next year.

The unions’ tough stance hasn’t changed despite recent warnings that airline revenues seem softer than expected this year.

“Management is playing with fire” if it refuses to restore pilot wages, Prater said.