American Airlines pilots union objects to Spirit data sale to Google

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots, filed its objection on Tuesday. The union stated that over 700 of its members previously worked at Spirit and would be affected by the sale. The APA's filing argued that the proposed sale not only discloses pilots' "confidential employment and training related information" but also "threatens to have a chilling effect across all commercial airlines."

The union emphasized that crew members participate in voluntary safety and training programs with the expectation of confidentiality. "To permit that information to later be sold to a third-party without ensuring complete deidentification and satisfactory confidentiality protections will serve to threaten the voluntary safety and training programs that provide the backbone of the commercial aviation industry in the United States," the filing stated.

The APA called for the court to reject the proposed sale until concerns regarding crew members' data are "satisfactorily addressed." Google has indicated that the sale encompasses Spirit's internal data and custom software, excluding customer or credit card information, and that all identifying details will be removed. This objection follows similar prior filings by the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.