Flight Ops/Flexjet, Pilots Still Spar over Integration

The union for Flexjet and Flight Options pilots has charged that company management is refusing to implement the merged collective bargaining agreement (MCBA) awarded by an arbitrator on October 10. According to IBT Local 1108, the award follows a “lengthy arbitration process” to establish contract terms for bringing the nearly 600 pilots in both groups under one set of rules. Flexjet and Flight Options have operated under the umbrella of aviation parent company One Sky Flight since 2015.

“Instead, the company intends to delay the implementation of the MCBA, which was to become effective immediately,” the union said. “In addition, the company will challenge in arbitration the pilots’ integrated seniority list (ISL).” In May 2016, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the ISL was “fair and equitable,” though a federal appeals court ruled in July that the company has the right to arbitrate the ISL.

In a statement, Flexjet/Flight Options said its leaders are “fully prepared” to begin discussing the implementation of “most of the elements” of the MCBA, blaming the Teamsters for “delaying salary and bonus improvements” in the agreement “by refusing to respond to the companies’ requests.” It added, “The only element the company cannot implement…is the seniority integration of the two pilot groups. The company intends to delay implementation of this flawed seniority list integration until after all legal challenges [are] resolved.”