United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reached an agreement with its pilots union that gives the world’s second-largest carrier staffing flexibility and the pilots better working conditions.
UAL and its chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association are close to finishing the final language on the agreement, the union said in a message to members on its website Wednesday.
The union has demanded the airline renegotiate contract terms as UAL posted consecutive quarterly profits after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy Feb. 1. The pilots took pay cuts of 40 percent and allowed the airline to terminate their pension plan to help the carrier survive.
The contract changes, if approved by the union’s 7,000 active pilots, raise the minimum number of hours pilots must fly a month and lower the maximum, the union said. More than 1,000 pilots remain furloughed.
In exchange, the pilots will see improvements in “key quality-of-life issues,” said United spokeswoman Jean Medina. The airline expects to improve its reliability if the changes, which won’t increase the airline’s expenses, are ratified.
United canceled 186 flights June 24-25 because of a lack of pilots and recalled 125 furloughed pilots June 30 to help with staffing.
