Negotiations Have Been Going On For More Than Two And A Half Years

Frontier Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), announced they have reached an agreement in principle (AIP) on a collective bargaining agreement after more than two-and-a half-years of negotiations with management. This agreement must be reviewed and approved by the Frontier ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC), which will vote on whether to send it out to the pilot group for a full ratification vote.

The AIP includes substantial improvements to pay, work rules, retirement, health insurance, and disability benefits. It retains the value of existing contract scheduling and vacation language and includes a $75 million ratification bonus to recognize the lengthy period of time it took to negotiate this agreement.

“ALPA’s goal from the beginning of negotiations has been to attain a market-rate agreement that brought the Frontier pilots into line with our professional peers who fly similar aircraft and routes,” said Frontier MEC chairman Capt. Tracy Smith. “We believe with this agreement we have achieved that goal.”

ALPA has been in contract talks with Frontier since March 2016, and the two sides have been in federal mediation since November 2016. Frontier’s pilots are the lowest-paid in the United States for their aircraft type and are the last in the nation who still work under a contract negotiated while their airline was in bankruptcy.

(Source: ALPA news release. Images from file)

FMI: www.alpa.org