United Airlines and the union representing their pilots said Saturday that they had reached an agreement on a contract that might raise pilot wages by up to 40% over 4 years.
The union valued the deal at about $10 billion. This got here after greater than 4 years of tumultuous negotiations that included picketing and talk of a strike vote.
The deal reflects the impact that employee groups, especially pilots, are benefiting from as airline revenues soar thanks to a robust recovery within the travel industry.
The Airline Pilots Association said the deal, which is subject to a ratification vote, will put United pilots on par with their counterparts at Delta Air Lines, which approved a pay raise deal earlier this yr.
The union said the deal included significant increases in wages, pension advantages and job security.
A minimum of by way of pay, the deal looks significantly better than the one United pilots turned down last November.
Once the deal is approved, pilots will receive immediate pay increases of 13.8% to 18.7%, depending on the variety of aircraft they fly, followed by 4 smaller annual increases, according to a summary on the union’s website.
![Pilot Omar Morsi checks the controls in the cockpit of a United Airlines Boeing 777 at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, March 9, 2023.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/GettyImages-1252906281.jpg?w=1024)
In the course of the term of the agreement, the pilot’s remuneration will increase by 34.5% to 40.2%.
Garth Thompson, chairman of the United Pilots union, called it a “historic agreement” made possible by the determination of 16,000 pilots.
In an announcement on LinkedIn, CEO Scott Kirby said: “We promised our world-class pilots the industry-leading contract they deserve, and we’re delighted to have reached an agreement with ALPA on this.”
American Airlines pilots are scheduled to start voting on July 24 for a deal that features average cumulative pay increases of 41.5% over 4 years. Southwest Airlines pilots are still negotiating.
American and Southwest have independent unions, while pilots at Delta and United are represented by ALPA.
The unions imagine they’ve a robust bargaining position with the airlines, which has received $54 billion in federal aid to help weather the pandemic, which has flourished due to a resurgence in travel.
The number of individuals flying within the US has roughly returned to pre-pandemic levels.
This week, Delta posted a record quarterly profit of greater than $1.8 billion and record revenue for the April-June period, which covers the primary a part of the summer tourist season.
United is due to announce its results on Wednesday, and analysts expect the airline to post a profit of greater than $1.3 billion, according to a FactSet survey.