US Airways pilot sickout plan fizzles

Expectations for a "sickout" by some US Airways pilots fizzled Wednesday as the union warned members that it's illegal to try to put pressure on management by staying home from work.

Some pilots who wanted to protest in support of a co-worker scheduled to be laid off had circulated fliers this week that management believed called for playing hooky on Wednesday. But US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said company officials saw no disproportionate flight cancellations or delays.

"The operation is running great," Wunder said.

Pilots at the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline have become increasingly frustrated with union conflicts and the slow contract negotiations in the three years since the carrier formed from a combination of the former, Virginia-based US Airways and America West Airlines.

Since the combination, unions from the two carriers have fought for control, filing lawsuits and leading to occasional dustups between pilots at terminals and airport hotels. Pilots from the East Coast eventually formed a new union, the US Airline Pilots Association, and earlier this year they won the right to represent pilots at the bargaining table.

The new union has been working to hammer out differences and come to a contract resolution.

USAPA spokesman Scott Theuer said the union sent management its version of a disputed seniority list earlier this week. Theuer said contract negotiators will focus in coming weeks on pilot salaries and benefits.

Former America West pilots have been angry with the carrier's decision to place some of its pilots on furlough as the company trimmed capacity. But when news of the possible sickout reached management, US Airways Vice President for Labor Relations E. Allen Hemenway sent a letter to USAPA to complain.

USAPA reacted by warning pilots not to participate in any illegal "job action."

By Wednesday, John McIlvenna, former chairman of the America West pilot group, said "there is no evidence of any sickout by West pilots at all."

Shares of US Airways were up 97 cents, or 16 percent, to $7.00 in Wednesday trading.