American’s Pilots Could See 23% Pay Bump Under Tentative, Union-Accepted Contract

Union leadership representing both US Airways and American Airlines has accepted tentative contract offers which include an initial 23 percent pay bump and annual raises.

The prospect of combining labor agreements for employees at American Airlines and US Airways as the two carriers move towards joining to create the world’s largest airline has been a daunting task. A tentative contract accepted by the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents both airlines, is a big step toward integrating the two carriers.

In November, flight attendants at American and US Airways narrowly rejected a contract that their own union recommended for approval. Rejecting that offer proved costly for Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) members. After the agreement was voted down, contract negotiations automatically moved to binding arbitration. Flight attendants left arbitration with a contract worth $81 million less than the original agreement. In December, however, the airlines’ management elected to pay flight attendants at the rate of the pre-arbitration offer that was previously voted down.

Shortly before pilots at US Airways and American face the prospect of their contract negotiations moving to binding arbitration, leadership at the APA reached a tentative deal with the airlines’ management. Details of the tentative contract released by Bloomberg outline a pay scale that will be among the richest in the industry. Under the tentative contract, pilots will receive an immediate 23 percent pay hike with yearly pay raises for the entirety of the five-year deal.

The tentative contract still requires approval from union members.

[Photo: American Airlines]