A significant pay increase is soon to be given to Alaska Airlines' 3,300 pilots.
A tentative agreement that will give certain members a wage boost of up to 23%, depending on years of service, was approved by the pilots in a vote led by their union, the Air Line Pilots Association.
Senior airline captains will get $306 per hour, rising to $330 per hour in two years.
Additionally, the deal will put ALPA-designed schedules into use, provide pilots greater scheduling flexibility, and strengthen their job security.
Contributions to retirement plans will go up for pilots as well.
With 82% of the vote, ratification was overwhelmingly approved.
ALPA reported that 96 percent of Alaska's pilots cast ballots.
Capt. Will McQuillen, president of Alaska's pilot union, stated in a statement: "Our goal was to negotiate an agreement where our pilots could make Alaska Airlines a lifetime profession and not just a stepping stone to another airline."
"This deal is beneficial to our airline as well as to our pilots and their families."
Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines, praised the accord as well.
According to Minicucci's comments, "Our pilots are leaders in our business."
"Even though it took a while, I'm happy to have them working under a new contract that recognizes their contributions to Alaska.
I'm appreciative to our ALPA colleagues who fought valiantly and tenaciously for our pilots.
This new contract confirms what many of us have believed for years: Alaska is an excellent area to pursue a career as a pilot.
A tense few years of discussions since the contract became amendable in 2020 have come to a conclusion with the outcomes, which were disclosed on Monday.
Both parties sought the assistance of a government mediator, and the pilots decided to approve a strike in May.
The new collective bargaining agreement for Alaska is the first to be approved during the COVID era by a mainline carrier.
At all other significant airlines, negotiations are still going on, and some of them have become acrimonious.
Like the pilots of Alaska, Delta Air Lines pilots are voting this month to approve a strike.
Alaskan pilots never went on strike, and it is improbable that Delta pilots will do the same.
Alaska's salary hikes take place against a backdrop of skyrocketing inflation, but also surging airline revenue as tourism picks up after the worst of the flu.
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