The union representing pilots at American Airlines is now openly entertaining the idea that the airline might be better off being taken over.
American Airlines Pilots Open Door To Takeover As Pressure On Management Intensifies
As flagged by View From The Wing, the president of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines pilots, says the union is now taking meetings about potential “takeover” scenarios and is open to “any path forward” for the airline. Nick Silva, who is APA President and also a first officer at American Airlines explained:
First, management’s lack of a long-term strategy and its short-term actions are causing our airline to fail to reach the full potential of its assets, network, and people.
Second, the current state of the airline is unacceptable. We have seen little in terms of vision, culture change, and operational improvements to believe that meaningful positive progress can be achieved in an acceptable timeframe.
And finally, APA is open to any path forward that allows us to work at an airline that values our leadership skills and professionalism, and creates an airline that not only competes but leads the industry and reinstates the pride of working for American Airlines, making our airline the first choice for passengers across the globe.
This is not idle speculation on an online pilot forum (those conversations exist too). Instead, this is the head of the pilots union signaling that outside parties have approached them about alternative futures for American Airlines, and that those conversations are happening right now.
It is staggering to me how much confidence has eroded internally.
This Is About Frustration With Leadership
American has lagged Delta and United for years on profitability, operational reliability, and overall strategy (though to its great credit, it is making noticeable investments in the product and has improved operational performance). Still, that gap has become a growing source of frustration among employees, particularly pilots who see their peers at competing airlines benefiting from stronger performance via profit sharing.
The pilots union has been increasingly vocal about that frustration, previously pushing for meetings with the board and criticizing what it sees as a lack of long-term vision. Now, the rhetoric is escalating is even further with talk over “takeover” scenarios.
United’s Merger Pitch Changed The Conversation
This all comes in the wake of United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby floating the idea of a merger with American. American rejected the idea quickly, but the suggestion clearly landed differently inside American’s pilot ranks.
Union leadership has pointed to that proposal as an example of the kind of “bold vision” the airline lacks today, even if it is not explicitly endorsing a merger. As Kyle mused last week, maybe United CEO Scott Kirby is “clever as a fox” in that the point of his AA merger overtures was not intended for AA management, but for the unions that are frustrated with years of tepid performance.
But this also may simply be internal politics.
The pilots union itself is dealing with internal dynamics, including ongoing debates about its own leadership and potential alignment with larger labor groups. Taking an aggressive stance against management, and publicly entertaining takeover scenarios, plays well with a membership base that wants change.
That does not make the concerns invalid, but it does mean the messaging is not purely about strategy.
> Read More: Kirby Is Crazy… Like A Fox
CONCLUSION
American Airlines’ pilots union is now talking openly about takeover scenarios, reflecting deep frustration with management and a willingness to consider options that would have been immediately dismissed until recently.
I’m still not predicting a merger between AA-UA, but when employees start saying “any path forward” is on the table, it’s a really yet another sign that employees have lost confidence in their leaders.
As a customer, I’ve seen AA make tremendous improvements and real effort at creating better product over the last year…I realize employees are frustrated, but I’m not sure how a new management team could do any better in terms of the actual investments currently underway.
image: American Airlines
Performative nonsense. Cute, though. (And yes, AA does seem to be improving. Free WiFi is nice. Looking forward to trying the new Flagship Suite on their 789 later this year.)
Who knows? Perhaps the modified saying “better the management you know (than the management you don’t)” is true!
Another important point to carefully consider regarding the AA-UA merger expectations is that, despite being a smaller company, AA has a much higher debt profile. Data shows that AA has over $30 billion in net debt compared to UA’s $18 billion.
Frustration with leadership got the union in bed with US Airways. So now American is US Airways except in name, frustration with leadership (again) gets the pilots chatting with United and who knows who else. Instead of focusing on what the pilots perceive as wrong and unsalvageable, why don’t the pilots focus on the excellent pay, benefits, and aircraft?
They already have that.
They want more profit sharing.
This kind of behavior would get most people fired.
Let’s note that while this recent move by the APA is seen as a pressure tactic against the AA management, the likelihood of the Trump administration and regulators allowing a takeover of this magnitude is still considered quite low.
A transformational move would be for AAL to hire Scott Kirby back, and let him be CEO.
Meanwhile, AA refreshes Main Cabin snacks and meals with new, elevated onboard offerings → https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2026/American-refreshes-Main-Cabin-snacks-and-meals-with-new-elevated-onboard-offerings-MKG-OB-05/default.aspx
Considering the catastrophic consequences from the last time AA pilots interfered with airline control (AmericaWest and the resulting ULCC mentality they brought in with Parker and his ilk really screwed up a great airline) I’d think the pilots would have learned their lesson.
Actually, having a capable airline like Alaska take over American would be a good merger. Not as good as Alaska and JetBlue, which would create a large fourth competitor to The Big 3 but still good.
Alaska Airlines is a large regional airlines with some long-haul routes. American Airlines is a national airlines operate many long-haul routes to South America and Europe.
Alaska management is very good, but their skill and experience might not be able to apply to AAL.
Look at how CO management nearly destroyed UAL a decade……
If AAL wants to hire senior management from outside, candidates from UAL, DAL or Air Canada would be a better fit.
Considering AA’s lack of success since the merger that brought in a bunch of ULCC people with no experience at a full service airline. Even after many years to learn how to switch to the big leagues, American management just doesn’t get it. I’d still go with Alaska.
Why would this be “especially “ with pilots? All employees get the same profit sharing
They get more (as a % of pay) since they are paid so much more.