Allied Pilots Association Seeks Judicial Validation of American Airlines-TWA LLC Seniority Integration Agreement.

Business Editors

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2002

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which serves as collective bargaining agent for the 11,000 pilots of American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), has filed suit in federal court in Fort Worth in order to secure a judicial declaration that the American Airlines-TWA LLC seniority agreement is appropriate and lawful. The seniority integration agreement constitutes Supplement CC of the APA-American Airlines collective bargaining agreement.

"Given the importance of the seniority integration agreement, APA is entitled to know, as we begin to enforce the agreement, whether it is valid and enforceable," said Captain John Darrah, APA President. "For that matter, American Airlines also has an interest in a ruling that the agreement is lawful. That is why we are seeking the declaration of a neutral third party--in this instance, a federal judge--on the fairness and legality of the agreement."

The case is pending before Judge John H. McBryde. APA chose to file the case in Fort Worth because the union, American Airlines, and TWA LLC are all headquartered in that city. Also, the bulk of the discussions between APA, American Airlines and the TWA LLC pilot representatives took place there, and the agreement between APA and American Airlines was negotiated and signed in Fort Worth.

According to APA, a group of TWA LLC pilots have created what APA terms a "litigation vehicle" known as the Aviation Workers Rights Foundation (AWRF) to challenge the seniority integration agreement. APA's lawsuit names TWA LLC Captain Bensel as a defendant in his personal capacity and as the principal spokesperson for AWRF.

APA also noted that American Airlines is a Rule 19 defendant in the suit, which means that APA is not seeking any relief from the airline. Because Supplement CC is a joint agreement between APA and American Airlines, Rule 19 serves as a procedural device that gets all of the parties involved before the court. Moreover, since American is a signatory to the seniority agreement, the company must be named as a defendant in order for the court to have all parties to the agreement before it.

"We are seeking a judicial ruling as soon as possible," said Darrah. "APA invested a tremendous amount of time and energy over a period of several months in crafting the seniority integration agreement, and we took great pains to ensure that all of the pilots affected by the agreement were accorded fair treatment. In the end, I believe we succeeded in preserving the career expectations of every pilot on both the American Airlines and TWA LLC pilot seniority lists."

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, APA was founded in 1963.