July 9, 2018

Pilots at Allegiant Air are prepared to strike if the airline doesn’t come to an agreement with them.

The dispute revolves around a scheduling system, which the pilots say has negatively impacted their lives and their families.

It “goes against industry standards and disregards pilots’ seniority and preferences – often upending pilots’ planned time away with their families,” according to a statement from the pilots’ union.

“We are people with spouses and children, not cells on a spreadsheet that Allegiant executives can move around with no rhyme or reason,” said Capt. Andrew Robles, an Allegiant Air pilot and executive council chairman at the pilots’ union, the Airline Pilots Association, Teamsters Local 1224. “Striking is a last resort, but we’ll do whatever it takes to hold Allegiant to its promises and to make our airline the best it can be for our pilots, our families and our passengers.”

In 2016, the pilots and Allegiant reached an agreement requiring that they negotiate and implement a new system within 180 days, but according to the pilots, it hasn’t been resolved.

Similar potential strikes have been halted by federal courts.

Allegiant flies to several destinations from Sioux Falls, including Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix.

An Allegiant spokeswoman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the airline is working on developing, testing and launching a new scheduling program by the end of this year.