United Pilots Prepare for Scope Battle

United’s pilot union put out an update on negotiations on June 20, and I think they’ve correctly nailed down Scope as the biggest concern for the upcoming negotiations. In their words . . .

This week we passed a proposal to the Company on Section 1, Recognition, Scope & Career Security. Scope is undoubtedly the most important section of the Contract as, without capturing Scope, we could have the best contract in the world, but it means nothing if our jobs continue to be outsourced.

As you can probably see, Scope Clauses determine how much flying can be done under the airline’s code outside of the airline’s pilot group. In the past, most of these negotiations have been about regional jet operations. Ever wonder why American has so few 70 seaters operating under its brand? They aren’t allowed to have any more under their Scope Clause. Each airline has come to a different agreement in the past, but the focus has always been on regional operations and codesharing.

United, however, has shifted the focus of Scope discussions this time with the announcement of its partnership with Aer Lingus. This now has put the pilots on the defensive at the top end of the chain as well as at the bottom.

To top things off, the airline has been shrinking. A WSJ Middle Seat post last week shows that the airline has shrunk capacity 38 percent over the last 10 years in North America. Sure, overall the numbers won’t be as bad as international has grown, but the airline is still facing a need for fewer pilots as more flights are outsourced to third parties.

So the union has correctly identified Scope as the most important issue at hand here. Now the question is, how will the company respond and what will the pilots settle for?