Southwest Airlines, pilots reach preliminary contract deal

Southwest Airlines Co. and its pilots’ union have reached an agreement in principle for a new five-year contract with a cost of about $12 billion.

The accord will be sent Wednesday to the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association board, which will vote on whether it should be forwarded to members for a vote, the union said. The two sides had been working recently to finalize a schedule to implement all the changes in the contract, which was totally rewritten.

“We are finally at a place where we think the value of our pilots and their productivity is being realized,” said Casey Murray, union president. “Our pilots and Southwest Airlines customers deserve security and confidence in our future, and we believe that this contract achieves that.” 

The union, which represents about 11,000 pilots at Southwest, declined to disclose further terms Tuesday. 

Southwest said the agreement “is a key milestone in the process, and we look forward to the next steps.”

The airline is the only one of the four largest US carriers that hasn’t signed a contract this year, after multibillion-dollar agreements at Delta Air Lines Inc., American Airlines Group Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. The new accords replace contracts negotiated well before the pandemic and come at a time of heightened labor-management tension as some carriers rake in record revenue from the post-Covid travel rebound. 

The four-year accord approved by United pilots in September is valued at $10.2 billion over its term, making it the costliest ever for a US airline. Over the first four years, the cost of Southwest’s agreement is $9.25 billion, Murray said. Labor vies with fuel as the top expense for airlines, and pilots are the highest paid among union workers.

Southwest pilots insisted on totally rewriting their prior contract instead of replacing only specific sections with new terms. The union also took a more aggressive stance by picketing outside of company buildings and meetings and at airports. It also sent mobile billboards calling for an agreement to near the homes of Southwest board members and established strike centers.