As if airlines have not had a rough year already, now American Airlines is going to have a challenging time finishing the year strong!
Recently, a glitch in the American Airlines system has caused a “scheduling failure” and now there are thousands of flights set to depart over the holidays with no scheduled pilots!
The union representing the pilots told CBS news the glitch was in the program the pilots use to bid for time off. It failed to limit requests for the busy travel season and therefore too many pilots were given time off.
American Airlines is trying everything they can to save those approximately 15,000 flights from being cancelled including even offering a pay raise to those who decide to man the flights.
“We have reserve pilots to help cover flying in December, and we are paying pilots who pick up certain open trips 150 percent of their hourly rate – as much as we are allowed to pay them per the contract. We will work with the APA to take care of our pilots and ensure we get our customers to where they need to go over the holidays,” said a spokesperson for the airlines.
So if you’re flying American Airlines this holiday season, you may want to switch flights and if you’re a pilot, go fly some planes and make that cash!
