Final Amendment Round Almost Complete

Negotiators for pilots at American Eagle, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA), reached a tentative agreement (TA) Thursday with management in the final amendment round of their 16-year contract.

The agreement contains improvements to work rule and quality of life provisions for the 2,800-plus pilots at American Eagle, while avoiding contractual concessions to any part of the contract. ALPA notes these goals were attained with minimal increase to American Eagle's operating cost in these challenging economic times.

"With our industry confronting historically high fuel prices, pilot furloughs, capacity reductions, consolidation and liquidations, our negotiators did a remarkable job in achieving the best possible solution for the Eagle pilot group," said Herb Mark, chairman of the American Eagle pilots' unit of ALPA. "Our negotiators were asked to bring us an agreement that increases quality of life wherever possible but includes no concessions. This tentative agreement accomplishes that mission, while providing many improvements in ways that add real dollars to pilots' pockets."

The agreement will be presented for ratification to the American Eagle Master Executive Council, the governing body of the American Eagle pilot unit within ALPA. When ratified, the agreement will complete the final amendment round in the pilots' unprecedented 16-year contract.

When the contract expires at the end of 2012, the pilots will return to the traditional method of contract negotiations, which is governed by Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world's largest pilot union representing 53,000 members at 37 airlines in the United States and Canada. With more than 2,800 pilots, American Eagle is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMR Corp. and provides feed to American Airlines as well as point-to-point service in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

FMI: www.aa.com, www.alpa.org