American Airlines boosts pilot contract offer by $1 billion after United deal

American
Airlines
raised
its
offer
for
a
new
pilot
contract
by
more
than
$1
billion
to

match
a
preliminary
deal
last
week
between
rival


United
Airlines
and
that
carrier’s
aviators.

The
new
offer
from
American
Airlines
would
bring
the
four-year
offer’s
value
to
around
$9
billion,
and
match
United
pay
rates,
backpay
and
other
benefits
such
as
sick
time
and
life
insurance,
CEO
Robert
Isom
said
in
a
message
to
pilots
on
Friday.

Airlines
and
pilot
unions
had
been
negotiating
new
deals
for
years.
Unions
have
won
more
bargaining
power
in
the
wake
of
Covid
as
the
industry
grapples
with
a
prolonged

pilot
shortage
just
as
travel
demand
recovered.


Delta
Air
Lines
pilots

approved
a
new
agreement
in
March
for
a
deal
that
includes
34%
raises
over
four
years.

American’s
pilots
were
scheduled
to
start
voting
on
the
current
deal
on
Monday.
The
new
offer
includes
21%
pay
bonuses
and
pay
on
par
with
United
and
Delta,
the
Allied
Pilots
Association,
their
union,
said
Friday.

Captain
Ed
Sicher,
the
union
president,
said
its
leadership
will
weigh
“whether
management’s
comprehensive
proposal
is
worthy
of
a
membership
vote.”

Isom
said
that
the
company
will
return
to
negotiations
if
changes
aren’t
approved
in
time
for
the
vote.

“We’ll
return
to
the
bargaining
table
and
do
what’s
necessary
to
get
to
a
deal.
It
just
won’t
be
done
quickly,”
Isom
said.
“We
run
a
complex
business
and
any
changes
to
what
we
agreed
to
—
even
small
ones
—
may
have
a
profound
impact.
Reconsideration
of
all
of
these
items
would
take
time.”