The Pilot Union’s Flying Veto

Some seven million people took to the skies this holiday season, and most seemed to escape last year’s airline meltdowns. But cloudier skies are ahead if pilot unions are allowed to control who can fly.

Congress recently extended until March the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. It’s the second short-term extension in three months, and the main sticking points are pilot training and retirement age. The Air Line Pilots Association union (ALPA) and other unions want to limit the supply of new commercial aviators—the better to leverage higher pay.