More international flights are destined for the West Coast of the United States, and American Airlines is keen to get in on the action. American plans to codeshare with Alaska Airlines on its new European routes, but has claimed that the airline will not want any flying done on the route with its pilots due to a conflict in scope clauses.
In a report by Forbes, the union representing approximately 16,000 pilots, the Allied Pilots Association president, Nick Silva, noted that American told him directly that they would be going directly against their pilots’ scope clauses, which currently permit domestic codesharing between the two airlines for domestic flights, but not for international.
Alaska Airlines Will Start Flying To Europe
Image: Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines’ recent merger with Hawaiian Airlines has given it access to four Boeing 787 jets for Alaska, which, up until now, it has historically only operated narrowbody aircraft. With these new airplanes now destined for Alaska, the airline has announced plans to start serving Europe, with Rome set to come first, followed by other destinations including London and Reykjavik.
For Americans, this is a prime opportunity for the airline to expand its presence in the Northwest, without needing additional aircraft. It’s obvious on America’s West Coast that AA has struggled to demand a significant presence, which has long been dominated by Delta and United Airlines when it comes to international flying. The trans-Pacific partnership between Japan Airlines and American, however, has allowed the two airlines to coordinate their pricing and schedules between the US and Japan. With Alaska Airlines now operating long-haul flying, JAL is considering including Alaska in the agreement.
ALPA has emphasized that while the current pilot contracts have allowed for domestic codesharing with Alaska, it was not permitted for international flying, and further to the point, stressed that the 787s, which were originally set for Hawaiian Airlines, would mean that these planes are subject to several codeshare limitations. As claimed by Silva, American Airlines had ‘revealed plans to ignore this in the contract discussion’.
Limiting Career Progression For American Airlines Pilots
Photo: Airlinephoto | Shutterstock
For pilots, scope clauses are crucial, as this means that American Airlines could outsource its widebody flights to other airlines, limiting career progression for a number of its pilots. This means that the scope is important, as it reaffirms a pipeline of development for current pilots, who may traditionally be flying short or medium-haul flights, with their sights set on long-haul flying.
The issue with the current developments by Alaska would mean that these widebody flights should be protected, and allowing American to codeshare on these services is taking the jobs and future away from current AA pilots. As reiterated by APA spokesperson Dennis Tajer, the scope clause is paramount for pilots, as this ‘protects our current jobs and future’.
Image: Alaska Airlines
Following the move, Silva has filed two grievances, which will be subject to arbitration in October, the first being the points raised above on American Airlines codeshares, with the other being the fact that Hawaiian aircraft are being used for Alaska Airlines’ international expansion.
Airline Dominance In The North West
Photo: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, between November 2023 and October 2024, Alaska Airlines has demanded close to 50% of all operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), operating on all the top ten domestic routes from the airport (Anchorage, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, Chicago, San Diego and Atlanta).
Internationally, however, Alaska surprisingly has remained absent from any long-haul flying, featuring only in the airport’s top ten international routes that are within North America (being Vancouver, Cancun, and San Jose del Cabo). Alaska wants to change this and is now operating on one popular long-haul route, Tokyo Narita Airport, with flights being operated by Hawaiian Airlines on behalf of Alaska Airlines. Seoul Incheon will also take off under the same arrangement from September 12.
IATA Code
AS
ICAO Code
ASA
Year Founded
1932
Seattle’s second-largest carrier Delta Air Lines, operates approximately 20% of all flights out of SEA, with several domestic operations, in addition to international services to Cancun, London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Puerto Vallarta, San Jose del Cabo, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong, Taipei Taoyuan, Tokyo Haneda, and Vancouver. Additional services to Barcelona and Rome take off from May.
