Pilots Balk As American Airlines Rolls Out New Cockpit Procedures

American Airlines on Tuesday implemented new cockpit procedures including changes to cockpit communications during critical events including low visibility landings, prompting pilots to charge that implementation has been overly hasty.

Allied Pilots Association said the implementation involves an attempt to alter critical procedures through a 35-page bulletin and changes in a 65- page manual rather than through in person training. “A reading assignment is not training,” APA spokesman Dennis Tajer said Tuesday.

APA, which represents 15,000 American pilots, said it does not oppose the changes if they are properly implemented.

“APA Supports Pilots Not Management Intimidation” was the headline on a letter to pilots Tuesday afternoon. It came after several incidents in Charlotte and Philadelphia when pilots delayed takeoffs as they sought to confer on the new procedures. An airline spokesperson said the delays were all less than 10 minutes.

“We have received word that management representatives have been attempting to intimidate pilots who are complying with their obligations to take the time necessary to review new (aircraft operating manual) procedures” the letter said. “APA leadership stands by its pilots as they take all necessary steps to ensure that they are fully prepared to operate their flights safely.”

Tajer said, “We’ve had several pilots removed at the gate in Charlotte and Philadelphia as they were trying to make sure they got the new procedures done correctly and safely.” The letter said some pilots had been threatened with “missed trip” removal from their flights.

In Charlotte, a captain was removed from his flight by the chief pilot, according to a letter to Charlotte pilots from Charlotte domicile leaders. “Our captain was ensuring that he and his crew were fully briefed and in compliance with the new AOM requirements that became effective today,” the letter said. The captain was initially disciplined with a missed trip, but the designation was altered after discussions between airline and union officials.

“We will not push off the gate until we feel prepared,” Tajer said. “This is fixable if management would back off the unnecessary immediate changes. We want this to work but we demand training.”

American said Tuesday, “These changes represent industry best practice and ensure improved crew coordination and consistency across fleet types so that our pilots can easily transition across different aircraft if they choose.

“These updates have been underway since 2021 and have been a coordinated effort with APA’s training committee,” the carrier said in a prepared statement. “Additionally, the approach to familiarizing our pilots has been approved by the FAA.

“Our commitment to safety is unwavering, which is why we regularly update our Aircraft Operating Manuals to ensure they represent the latest and safest information for our pilots,” American said.

Tajer said APA has appealed the approval of the changes by the FAA’s Dallas-based principal operations inspector for American Airlines.

American introduced the changes Dec. 5 as an effort to harmonize cockpit procedures in its Airbus and BoeingBA
fleets. In a bulletin to pilots, the airline said, “Using American Airlines and industry best practices, callouts for all phases of flight have been standardized.”

Among the tasks with new procedures are setting thrust, controlling exterior lights and sounding the chimes that signal to flight attendants. “When setting thrust on takeoff, Airbus may call out “Flex.” This callout is not applicable on Boeing fleets,” the bulletin noted. Tasks such as controlling exterior lights, formerly assigned to the captain have now been assigned to the pilot flying the aircraft, and the use of chimes has been synchronized between aircraft types.

Regarding critical tasks such as landing with low visibility, these often involve the captain viewing a display panel while the first officer monitors other displays. Both pilots have typically remained silent as long the readings are within safety limits. “Now the airline has inserted a series of statements from the first officer and required responses from the captain,” Tajer said.

On Monday, in a letter to pilots signed by all 20 of its top officers (including the top two officers from each domicile) APA said “American Airlines flight operations management is attempting to circumvent robust safety-related pilot training by unilaterally imposing operational changes via bulletin.

“While APA does not oppose fleet harmonization, we are steadfast in our commitment that pilots must be properly trained before operating with passengers,” the letter said. “This attempt to train by bulletin, while ignoring serious safety concerns and well-established best practices, runs the risk of dramatically eroding margins of safety,” the letter said. “(The changes) alter how pilots communicate, coordinate, and execute flight safety duties at some of the most high-threat times of flight. These high-threat times include, but are not limited to, rejected takeoffs, low visibility approaches, and go-arounds.”

In a letter to pilots on Sunday, Jan. 1, three management pilots wrote that while the policy change “bring new callouts and changes within some of our procedures, it is important for you not to feel undue pressure on Jan. 3 or during your next several trips after Jan. 3.

“Our safety management systems process considered that it could take us several weeks to be comfortable with the (aircraft operating manual) changes, and it also considered that, during this learning period, the changes are small enough that mixing the new with our current callouts and procedures would not bring undue risk.”