Actually, American Airlines’ Pilots Union Is Right: Sorry, View From The Wing

Here in the blogosphere, we all have our opinions on the failures of American Airlines’ management, and what the solution is for the airline to improve its financial performance. I’ve certainly been vocal about my take.

However, in this post I’d like to focus on something different — not on what American management is saying, or what union leaders are saying, but instead, on what a blogger is saying about what a union leader is saying. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to a blogger responding to a blogger responding to a union leader… 😉

Blogger comments on comments of pilots union leader

Gary at View from the Wing posted a story titled “Why American Airlines’ Pilots Union Is Calling For A New CEO—Even As He Makes Changes It Wanted.” He references a story that quotes Captain Nick Silva, the President of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines’ pilots:

“The pool of talent to lead airlines seems to be relatively small. It’s just the question of is there somebody out there who can turn the ship around faster? We have hope that there’s somebody out there who sees the potential here, who sees what we see, and is able to come in.”

“If that’s Robert, great. But if it’s not, somebody is able to come in and turn this place around and turn this into a place that we’re proud to work at again. Because that’s not what we have right now. I can categorically say that.”

It’s worth noting that this actually represents significantly scaled back criticism compared to what we’ve seen from Silva in the past, where the union demanded decisive action from the board.

Gary then proceeds to theorize on why the head of the pilots union would say such things, when American is now finally making positive changes:

However, it’s worth understanding why the pilots union is (1) out criticizing management, and (2) doing it now – precisely as management is largely doing the things that the union would have them doing (by Silva’s own admission).

• They’ve just opened contract negotiations with the airline early.
• They are looking to blame management for poor financial performance, to shift the narrative from poor performance means the airline can’t afford to invest more in a new contract to one that blames management for that poor performance.
• Indeed, the union’s opener in contract talks calls for a seat on the board (like pilots at Delta and United have). They’re framing themselves as the answer to mismanagement at the airline – that contract talks can solve for American’s financial problems, rather than being forestalled by them.

Sorry, I’m with the pilots union on this one…

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that I don’t think management nor unions at any company are perfect, and there are often performative politics at unions. However, I couldn’t disagree more with Gary here. For one, Gary says:

However, it’s worth understanding why the pilots union is (1) out criticizing management, and (2) doing it now

Um, Gary, the pilots union has been criticizing management for years. This is nothing new. The head of the union being quoted in a paywalled article is hardly the most radical attack we’ve seen from the union against management. Gary then also says:

They are looking to blame management for poor financial performance, to shift the narrative from poor performance means the airline can’t afford to invest more in a new contract to one that blames management for that poor performance.

They are “trying” to “shift” the narrative to one that blames the company’s poor financial performance on management? So… they’re saying the truth, or what am I not understanding here? Who is to blame? The frontline employees? Hillary Clinton’s emails?

Guys, this is very simple. Robert Isom has been either President or CEO of American since 2016. Over those 10 years, he has been paid $104,482,819. His tenure in those roles almost entirely coincides with the company’s downfall in terms of passenger experience (it was 2017 when American prototyped its new narrow body planes without seat back TVs, after spending the previous few years installing them).

And of course it’s not just passenger experience, it’s also financials. I mean, does this look like “winning?”

And keep in mind that Isom became President when former American President Scott Kirby went to United, where he’s now CEO. How’s that looking over there?

Is it so radical to think that there might be someone better suited for the job of CEO than Isom? And is it so unreasonable for the head a union to (surprisingly gently) pose that question? It’s almost as if Isom is part of some royal family, and he is entitled to that job unless the airline literally liquidates.

Yes, American is absolutely making positive changes right now, and I’m delighted to see them. However:

• I’m much more inclined to give the new Chief Commercial Officer, Nat Pieper (an outsider who only recently joined the airline) credit for that, rather than Isom, the guy who was behind many of the decisions that moved the company in the wrong direction
• I don’t think top executives at publicly traded companies who are making up to eight figures per year deserve second and third and fourth chances; like, you don’t get to burn the house down, and then rebuild it and say “oh, I just need more time,” while pocketing $100+ million
• While American is moving in the right direction, there’s still a lack of urgency; American still hasn’t announced plans to introduce Starlink fleet wide, and current estimates suggest it’ll be 2032 before all narrow body planes are retrofitted with seat back TVs
• While American has addressed customer experience, the airline hasn’t done anything to meaningfully improve morale among employees, and Isom has (understandably) lost the trust of frontline employees

I totally get Gary’s argument that “oh, it takes time to make changes, they don’t come overnight.” That’s exactly why it’s so inexcusable that management was asleep at the wheel for so long, because they got the company into a hole that will be very hard to dig out of. The problems that they created won’t just impact the airline right now, they’ll impact the airline for years, even if the company gets the most competent leader imaginable.

The best thing that could be done to turn the airline around in terms of morale is to have a new CEO who is an outsider, who can start with a clean slate, and maybe earn the trust of employees, because that’s something that Isom has permanently lost. I think Pieper would unarguably be a better fit for CEO, or someone like Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith, who has a record of winning the trust of employees.

Guys, I’m not some American hater. I’ve been flying American as my primary airline for 15 years, and I want the airline to be great (Make American Great Again!). There’s nothing I’d love more than for the executives at Delta and United to get off their high horses about how American is cooked, and about how damn premium they are. But for anything to change, employees need a company they’re proud of, and someone at the helm who is willing to take decisive action.

Gary, sure, maybe the points you make are contributing factors to why the union head is making those comments. But why ignore the most obvious reason he made those comments, which is that they’re 100% correct. I’d ask Gary a simple question — does he think that Isom is the best man for the job of CEO at American right now? If not, why should he keep his job?

Bottom line

The head of American Airlines’ pilots union is continuing to criticize the company’s CEO, but if anything, he is toning down the harshness, compared to the past. View from the Wing argues that this is a negotiating tactic because contract negotiations have opened.

I strongly disagree with that premise. The union has been (understandably) criticizing management for years, given their lack of performance, so I’m not sure why we’re pretending that this is anything new. I understand many people don’t like unions, but that doesn’t mean that their leaders don’t sometimes make good points.

Even as American slowly moves in the right direction with passenger experience, the company still needs a new CEO, one who can win the trust of employees, and who can work with a bit more urgency. I think Robert Isom should take the $104+ million he has earned in the past decade, play some golf, and enjoy his life…

Who do you side with here?