Alaska Airlines, pilots reach agreement on new contract

Alaska Airlines and its largest pilots union have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.

The Air Line Pilots Association and the airline confirmed on Friday that an agreement had been reached that included pay increases for more than 3000 Alaska pilots.

The agreement needs to be approved by the pilots in Alaska's union.

The union called for improved quality of life, along with demands for scheduling flexibility and job security, as part of the negotiations that began in 2019.

The agreement seems to meet the demands of the union leaders. The chair of the Alaska pilots union said in a statement that they had reached an agreement to address all the areas in which they had been lagging.

"Significant improvements in the areas we know are most important to our pilots are included in the tentative agreement," Alaska Airlines management said.

Raises part of the agreement

The raises for captains with the Seattle-based carrier will be between 15% and 23% this year. A framework for the deal released by the union shows that mainline captains will get a 23% raise. There will be more raises for pilots in the next two years. Captains just starting out with the main line carrier would make $300 per hour and captains with at least 11 years of service would make $331 per hour.

Two industry market checks are included to keep pay rates competitive.

First officers would get raises this year of between 8% and 21% depending on their rank.

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The entire airline industry has grappled with a shortage of pilots that contributed to flight disruptions seen during much of 2022, a problem that has led to carriers, including Alaska, temporarily reducing flight schedules at times.

Bottom line

The fact that a tentative agreement has been reached after three years of negotiations is good news for the pilots, as it will likely prevent a strike.