American Airlines and pilots prepare to talk

Hundreds of American Airlines flights have been canceled and thousands more have been delayed, but the airline and its disgruntled pilots are preparing to talk.

The Allied Pilots Assn., the union for American’s 10,000 pilots, said Tuesday that it had received a request from the airline to resume contract negotiations.

“I replied in a letter today that we are likewise interested in the resumption of talks and that we share the same commitment to reaching a consensual agreement on behalf of the pilots we represent,” union President Keith Wilson said in a statement issued to union members.

American filed for bankruptcy last year, and a bankruptcy judge recently allowed the airline to toss out its contract with the pilots union and unilaterally set new salaries and work rules.

Since then, the airline has accused pilots of calling in sick and submitting maintenance work orders in unusually high numbers, resulting in flight delays and cancellations.

The pilots deny that they are to blame, pointing instead to layoffs of hundreds of maintenance workers and the closure of a key maintenance facility over the last few years.

Since last week, the airline has canceled 436 flights and delayed 5,788, according to the flight review site Flightstats.com.

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