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Home » American Airlines » Opportunistic? American Airlines Pilots Refuse To Fly China, Sue Airline
American AirlinesLaw In Travel

Opportunistic? American Airlines Pilots Refuse To Fly China, Sue Airline

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 31, 2020November 14, 2023 4 Comments

a large airplane parked at an airport

I’m not saying, I’m asking: is there a direct link between the battle for a new contract and pilot’s refusal to fly to China at American Airlines?

American Airlines Pilots Fight For New Contract

I’ve written about the ongoing contract negotiations between American Airlines and its pilots.

The Allied Pilot Association, representing the pilots of American Airlines, has laid out several demands for a new pilot contract. What has been strongly emphasized by Captain Eric Ferguson, the APA President, is greater control over scheduling:

“We’re sick of scheduling practices that are based on coercion, instead of the incentives our most successful competitors use.”

Earlier this week, pilots picketed at Dallas – Fort Worth International Airport.

The APA has also used threatening language to expedite a solution:

“While there’s still time remaining, it’s far from infinite — and neither is our patience.”


> Read More: A Reasonable Threat From American Airlines Pilots


American Airlines Refuse To Fly To China, Sue American

Now the APA has told its pilots to refuse to fly to China. In a note to pilots, Ferguson laid out several reasons for the union’s demand that pilots refuse to fly these flights:

  • The coronavirus is a highly contagious disease that is nowhere near being fully understood, let alone contained.
  • On Jan. 28, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded its travel advisory to avoid all nonessential travel to China.
  • The U.S. government has evacuated more than 200 personnel assigned to Wuhan, China, back to the United States for screening.
  • British Airways, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and other carriers have already suspended flights into China.
  • Today, the first documented case of coronavirus transmission in the United States occurred in Chicago.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the epidemic an “international public health emergency.”

Add to that the U.S. State Department, which has now issued a level four travel advisory to avoid all travel to China.

You can read the lawsuit yourself here (.pdf), but note that the pilots are suing AA for negligence:

“Plaintiff hereby sues the Defendant American Airlines for negligently and intentionally exposing its members to the coronavirus, a potentially fatal, communicable disease, through its continued operation of flights to and from China.”

Already, we see the consequences. The Los Angeles – Hong Kong flight from last night still has not taken off. Flights to Shanghai and Beijing have been cancelled for today and today’s Hong Kong flight from Dallas is also delayed.

It seems inventible that American Airlines will suspend all service to Mainland China and perhaps Hong Kong too.

CONCLUSION

Fear is not unreasonable in this situation: with a long incubation period and many unknowns, I am also avoiding China at this time. But I wonder whether a dramatic lawsuit accusing American Airlines of intentional negligence has more to do with the safety of the pilots or the ongoing contract negotiations…

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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4 Comments

  1. John Reply
    January 31, 2020 at 9:32 am

    Dude. If the State Department has a Level 4 advisory (on par with Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Venezuela), I’m not flying there as a pilot, passenger, etc. This is not opportunistic and a terrible headline from you.

    • Matthew Reply
      January 31, 2020 at 11:23 am

      Article was written and lawsuit filed before Level 4 advisory.

      • John Reply
        January 31, 2020 at 12:26 pm

        Time stamp on your article is today, 1/31; Level 4 announcement and lawsuit both yesterday, 1/30.

  2. Frank Reply
    January 31, 2020 at 12:08 pm

    I don’t get how it gets to the lawsuit stage. Since the coronavirus outbreak has become publicized, passenger volumes have plummeted. Winter flights to China were barely profitable before, now they are sure money losers. Why wouldn’t AA just fold the minute the pilots objected? All they would have had to say was “We have listened to our pilots and are cancelling our flights out of an abundance of caution. “

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