Delta pilots to picket amid surging flight cancellations

Hundreds of Delta Air Lines out-of-service pilots plan to picket this week, demanding a pay rise and the company change its schedules to reduce flight interruptions.

The Airline Pilots Association said Monday in a statement that its nearly 14,000 members are working longer hours even though airlines cancel thousands of flights, angering customers.

“When delays or cancellations occur, pilots share the frustration of our passengers,” Jason Ambrosi, union leader and Delta pilot, said in the statement. “As a long-term stakeholder in our airline, seeing our operational reliability suffer is bad business and puts the Delta brand at risk.”

“The perfect storm is occurring. Demand has returned and pilots are setting a record for overtime, but they are still seeing our customers get stranded and their holiday plans ruined,” he added.

The pilots played an important role in helping Delta recover its financial losses coronavirus pandemic, but his salary has not changed since 2016, the union said. The labor group is also calling for improvements in retirement benefits and labor protection.

The labor protest will not affect the service, Delta says

A Delta Air Lines spokesman said the company and pilots began contract negotiations earlier this year after talks stalled for two years during the pandemic. The spokesman noted that the pilots plan to do pickets, not strike, one day they are not scheduled to work.

“This informative exercise by some of our out-of-service pilots will not disrupt our operations for our customers,” Delta said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. “Our goal remains to continue to offer Delta pilots an industry-leading global contract with the best compensation based on pay, retirement, work rules and profit sharing.”

The pilot protest is scheduled for Thursday, just before the July 4 holiday, at airports in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle and Salt Lake City, according to the union.

More than 3.5 million Americans are expected to fly over the holiday weekend, according to AAA estimates. This is the lowest share of people scheduled to travel by plane for the Fourth of July holiday since 2011, the car club noted.

Cancellations continued this weekend as airlines abandoned more than 850 flights on Sunday, according to the FlightAware tracking service. Another 750 flights were canceled Monday at noon Eastern Time, while more than 1,700 trips were delayed.

Delta has canceled more flights between June 16 and 20 than all last summer, according to CBS Evening News. Airlines have blamed much of this year’s travel chaos on bad weather and the shortage of pilots, flight crew and other staff. Carriers have also pointed to the lack of staff at the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA has admitted it has a shortage of staff, especially at a key air traffic control center in Florida.

CBS News Senior Travel Advisor Peter Greenberg said airlines have to do it staff in their departments to improve service and reduce disruptions.

Widespread flight cancellations have even caught U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. A flight that Buttigieg was scheduled to make was recently canceled, forcing him to do so to drive from Washington, DC, in New York. The delay came a day after he met with airline leaders to urge them to address operational issues.