DALLAS — Southwest Airlines and its pilots’ union reached a preliminary labor agreement on Tuesday, ending contentious negotiations between the two sides.
Southwest is the last of the largest U.S. airlines to reach a deal that would give pilots large raises, CNBC reported.
More than 10,000 pilots represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association have been in mediation for their contract with the Dallas-based airline, The Dallas Morning News reported. The contract became amendable in 2020.
“This AIP (agreement in principle) comes after three-and-a-half long years of negotiating,” union president Casey Murray said in a statement. “We are finally at a place where we think the value of our pilots and their productivity is being realized.
“Our pilots and Southwest Airlines customers deserve security and confidence in our future and we believe that this contract achieves that.”
Contract details will be released after board approval, the Morning News reported. Raises are expected to match increases of 40% or more over four years that pilots at other airlines are currently receiving, according to the newspaper.
The union’s 25-member board is expected to evaluate the deal on Wednesday, CNN reported.
According to The Associated Press, Southwest Airlines said it was pleased to reach the agreement, calling it a “key milestone.”
“We are pleased to reach an agreement in principle with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association for Southwest’s nearly 11,000 pilots,” Adam Carlisle, Southwest Airlines’ vice president of labor relations, said in a statement. “The AIP is a key milestone in the process, and we look forward to the next steps.”
Pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines have already come to agreements with their pilots, the Morning News reported.
Tuesday’s announcement comes weeks after flight attendants at Southwest rejected a tentative deal after five years of talks, according to the AP. Flight attendants had not received raises during that time, the news organization reported.