by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:20 AM ET, Tue August 22, 2023
Pilots working for American Airlines announced on Monday
night that they have ratified a new contract with the carrier valued at $9.6
billion.
According to The
Associated Press, officials from the Allied Pilots Association (APA) said
the new deal includes pay raises of more than 40 percent over four years and
higher company contributions to retirement plans.
American CEO Robert Isom said the agreement with the carrier’s
around 15,000 pilots will help “immediately expand its pilot training and
provide pilots with more opportunities for career advancement.”
The APA revealed that 73 percent of pilots who voted favored
the four-year contract.
“This contract is a big first step toward restoring the
wages, benefits, and work rules that were lost during the past two decades
while our profession was under continuous assault,” APA union President Ed
Sicher said.
In July, the APA announced it had reached an agreement in principle
with American on an updated
labor contract that would provide similar incentives to the recent deal
between United Airlines and its pilots.
The two sides reached a tentative
deal in early July, but the agreement was in “jeopardy” after United
announced a new contract that would have paid its pilots more money and with better
incentives.
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