After more than four and a half years of negotiations, there is a new contract between American Airlines and its pilots union.
With more than 95% of eligible pilots voting, almost 73% voted to ratify the four-year deal with the Fort Worth-based airline.
"This is a major step forward into solidifying American as a reliable carrier," says Capt. Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 15,000 pilots at American Airlines.
The new contract calls for immediate pay raises of more than 21%, as well as annual pay raises each May for the duration of the contract.
It also includes enhancements to benefits and work rules.
"There are improvements in his contract not only for pilot families, but to ensure that the airline is running more smoothly and more reliably (and) more predictably, even when weather events hit," says Capt. Tajer. "It gives some certainty to pilots that they know when they're going to be home. There are limits unlike there were before. And of course, there's some financial gains that really recognize just how far behind pilots have been at American."
In all, pilots' compensation will increase by more than 46% during the course of the contract.
"This agreement will help American immediately expand our pilot training capacity to support under-utilized aircraft and future flying and provide our pilots with more opportunities to progress in their careers," says Robert Isom, American Airlines CEO.
Tajer says while the contract is a great day for the airline and its pilots, there's still some work to be done.
"Management teams across the industry, even at American Airlines, have let AI build these schedules that are four and five days long, and most of our trips are going out that long," Tajer notes. "We've had to put a rope around that and we've got an agreement there, but it actually undermines the operation."
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