American Airlines says it will give flight crew a pay increase to compensate them in line with peers at rival carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
In a rare unilateral move, AA said there would be no strings attached following a mid-term pay review.
It will mean pay increases of about 8% for pilots and 4% for flight attendants, CEO Doug Parker and president Robert Isom said in a release.
"When we merged, we committed that American Airlines team members would be compensated in line with their peers at other airlines. Committing to ‘pay in line with our peers’ is difficult to define in an industry like ours with complex contracts and work rules."
"But we also know that base pay rates are a very visible and meaningful indicator of relative compensation, so we set out to meet our commitment by setting American’s base pay rates at the top of the industry," Parker said.
American’s pilots and flight attendants agreed new deals in late 2014 and 2015 which have since fallen behind more recent agreements at Delta and United.
"Today, our pilot hourly pay rates are approximately 8% lower than the industry’s highest rates, and our flight attendants’ hourly pay rates are approximately 4% lower. Absent any action, these gaps would remain at similar levels until those contracts become amendable in December 2019 for flight attendants and January 2020 for pilots," Parker added.
"This doesn’t feel right for the new American, and it doesn’t feel consistent with our commitment."
It still needs to be ratified by unions but with no concessions asked for, American expects it to be agreed without delay.
Dan Carey, president of the Allied Pilots Association said the ‘long-overdue pay rate increase represents a welcome initiative by management.’
