Southwest Airlines announced Monday that its pilots have approved a new collective bargaining agreement that includes pay increases of about 50% over five years.
The roughly 11,000 pilots in the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association have been negotiating for better pay, severance benefits, disability insurance and an overhaul of the scheduling process after their contracts ended in September 2020. Ta.
The union said in a statement that about 93% of the votes were in favor of the new $12 billion contract.
Pilots at the Dallas-based airline will receive a 29.15% raise immediately, followed by 4% raises in 2025, 2026 and 2027. The agreement provides for a 3.25% wage increase in 2028.
As travel rebounds after the pandemic, airlines are offering big contracts to attract and retain pilots.
Last year, United Airlines Holdings Inc. pilots approved a deal that includes cumulative pay increases of 34.5% to 46% over four years and other benefits, following deals from American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
For the past two years, unions in aerospace, construction, aviation and rail have been fighting for higher wages and other benefits in a tight labor market.
Expensive pilot contracts raise costs for airlines and prompt other work groups to demand similar benefits.
Flight attendants at Southwest Airlines last month voted against a five-year contract that would have made them the highest-paid flight attendants in the industry.
