A new contract has been approved by American Airlines pilots, which offers more than $9.6 billion worth of pay and benefits increases over four years. This reflects the pilots' bargaining power at a time when there is a lack of airline staff.
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The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents the airline's 15,000 pilots, announced that 72.7% of pilots voted for the deal. This will result in an immediate pay rise of over 21%, with the overall compensation for pilots at the airline increasing by over 46% during the contract's duration.
President of the Allied Pilots Association, Captain Ed Sicher, described the contract as "unprecedented and historic." Jefferies estimates that there is a shortage of around 10,000 pilots in the U.S. airline industry, which is expected to last until 2027. In order to meet travel demand, airlines are rushing to staff up, giving pilots
Rival United Airlines recently announced a preliminary deal for a new four-year contract that would give its pilots a cumulative increase of 34.5%-40.2% in pay. American's contract includes immediate, one-time payments and ratification bonuses totaling around $1.1 billion. The union has stated that nearly 20% of the increased value of the new contract comes from quality-of-life improvements, such as premium pay for pilots if the company reassigns them from a trip they bid on or have requested to fly.