Pilots’ union says American Airlines is leaving standby passengers behind

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2016, file photo, a passenger talks on the phone as American Airlines jets sit parked at their gates at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation say complaints of such searches have spiked recently. Americans have protection under the Fourth Amendment from unreasonable search and seizure. A police officer, for example, must obtain a warrant from a judge before searching a suspect's phone. But the U.S. border is a legal grey zone. Border agents have long had the right to search travelers' physical luggage without a warrant, and that interpretation has been expanded to include digital devices. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Susan Walsh / AP

By DAVID KOENIG, Associated Press

March 23, 2017

1 minute to read

DALLAS (AP) — The head of the pilots’ union said Thursday that American Airlines is leaving thousands of standby passengers at the gate to make sure that flights depart on time.

Nearly 20,000 passengers were denied boarding in February even though there were empty seats, Dan Carey, president of the Allied Pilots Association, said. He called it intolerable.

American carried more than 14 million passengers last month.

The airline has been trying to improve its on-time performance. It ranked eighth among the nation’s largest 12 airlines at on-time arrivals in 2016, but rose to third in January, the latest month for which government figures are available.

American did not immediately comment.

Carey said standby passengers are left behind on about one in six flights, and he blames the airline’s policy of closing the door from the gate area to the jet bridge 10 minutes before scheduled departure. He says gate agents are under extraordinary pressure to close the door no matter what, but that passengers should not be left behind if there are empty seats.