American Airlines reaches tentative contract agreement with pilots union
4-year deal includes industry-leading pay and profit-sharing
American Airlines has reached a tentative labor agreement with pilots who recently raised the possibility of a strike against the nation’s biggest airline if they were unable to get a new contract with higher pay.
American said Friday that the four-year deal, if ratified by pilots, would give them pay and profit-sharing "that match the top of the industry."
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Earlier this year, Delta Air Lines pilots ratified a contract that will boost their pay 34% over four years, but American pilots said they needed more to catch up with Delta, which has a richer profit-sharing program.
American CEO Robert Isom said in March that the airline was ready to give pilots 40% more in pay and retirement contributions. Isom said that would boost top pay and benefits for a captain of single-aisle planes like the Boeing 737 to $475,000 a year in salary and retirement benefits, and $590,000 for pilots of bigger planes such as Boeing 777s and 787s.
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![American Airlines Pilots](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/05/640/320/Airlines.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
American Airlines planes are parked at Pittsburgh International Airport on March 31, 2020, in Imperial, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)
United and Southwest are in negotiations with their pilots, who are seeking to match or improve on the Delta deal.
Pilots believe that a shortage affecting some carriers has given them more leverage at the bargaining table. They are seeking higher pay and improvements in scheduling.
American pilots recently voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, although federal law makes it difficult for airline workers to strike.
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