American Airlines sued by its pilots' union over training dispute

• American Airlines is being sued by its pilots' union over a training dispute.
• The airline planned to introduce a rule allowing volunteer pilots to participate in training on their days off.

American Airlines is being sued by its pilots' union over a plan to ask volunteer pilots to participate in simulator training sessions on their days off.

The Allied Pilots Association filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Texas on Thursday, alleging the airline breached collective-bargaining rules.

The lawsuit takes issue with the airline's solution in the event that one of two pilots taking part in flight-simulator training is absent, according to court documents seen by Insider.

Typically, two pilots participate in the training session, although only one is under evaluation at a time.

Currently, an absent pilot would be replaced with a specially trained check pilot, but the airline wants to replace them with regular pilots, who could volunteer to participate on their day off for extra pay.

In the court documents, the association said it objected to the airline unilaterally altering work rules without negotiating with the union.

"As demand continues to grow and we continue to hire, we need to expand our pilot-training capabilities to a historically unprecedented level," Lyle Hogg, vice president of flight operations training, said in a note to pilots, according to CNBC.

In the lawsuit, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents around 14,000 pilots, said it was seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction to restore the previous rules.

"Management right now is making up rules as they go along," Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the union, told CNBC.

"They're in a crisis to get pilots through training. They're underwater trying to get as many pilots through as possible."

American Airlines defended the decision in a statement to Simple Flying.

"This program is designed to give line pilots the opportunity to support the flight training simulator program, which is good for our pilots and provides even more training capacity to support continued growth," the airline said.

"The pilots volunteering are highly qualified and experienced, and are responsible for the safety of our customers and fellow crew members every day."