Jun 15 2008
Hawaiian Airlines May Be Nearing Pilot Strike
The 400 pilots of Hawaiian Airlines are losing patience following a year of informal attempts to reach a new contract. This situation could deteriorate rapidly and pose serious risk to the health of Hawaii’s largest, locally-based airline. The announcement comes at a time when Hawaiian Airlines can least afford any interruption in service.
In Sunday’s press release, likely intended to bring light to the severity of the situation and gain public support, Capt. Eric Sampson, chairman of the Hawaiian Airlines’ pilot association had this to say:
“We’re frustrated and disappointed with the slow pace of negotiations. This is a billion-dollar airline with huge upside potential, and management’s latest proposal isn’t even enough to cover annual cost of living increases.”
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) indicated that they have made considerable concessions to Hawaiian Airlines over the past one and a half years. These include having non-Hawaiian pilots fly planes to New Zealand for heavy maintenance, facilitating Hawaiian’s recent Airbus fleet acquisition, and relaxing agreed-upon contract terms to allow longer pilot flying time.
ALPA will now need to decide whether to continue to cooperate with Hawaiian or play a more adversarial role.
In addition to the pilots, several other Hawaiian unions have contracts that will soon be coming up for negotiation.
History: Hawaiian Airlines has faced labor disputes before and dissension between the company and their pilots is historic. In 2006, Hawaiian narrowly averted a strike by machinists over outsourcing of maintenance.
Suggestion: Consider trip insurance with coverage for labor disputes if you are flying Hawaiian. If you have already purchased tickets, you can still buy trip insurance with such a clause within 14 days as a general rule.
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