Release #: CMT 22.01
February 28, 2022

CommutAir Pilots Ratify New Contract with Significant Pay and Quality-of-Life Improvements

McLean, Va.—Today, CommutAir pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), have ratified a tentative agreement, which now becomes the pilot group’s collective bargaining agreement. With 83 percent of eligible pilots casting ballots, 92 percent voted to ratify the agreement. The four-year agreement provides significant improvements to pay rates, retirement, and working conditions.

“After suspending and then restarting negotiations amidst the pandemic, CommutAir pilots now have a contract in which the pay rates and benefits reflect our contributions to this company,” said Capt. Earl Blowers, chairman of the CommutAir ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC). “This agreement is the result of not only hard work and dedication by our Negotiating Committee, but also reflects a readiness to cooperate during these tough times and demonstrates the unmatched unity of the CommutAir pilot group.”

Highlights of the contract include:

25.4 percent pay increase for captains
32.0 percent pay increase for first officers
Provisions for management to increase pay rates up to 25 percent over the term of the agreement
A new travel benefit program through which pilots will receive reimbursement for commuter costs
30 days of paid maternity leave
Improved work rules, particularly for reserve pilots

The pilots began negotiations with management in September 2019 but suspended bargaining in response to the pandemic. Negotiations resumed in May 2021, and earlier this month, the parties reached a tentative agreement. The vote to ratify the agreement by the pilot group opened on February 16 and closed today at noon ET.

“Our pilot membership made clear that their priorities for the coming years included pay and quality of life, and our Negotiating Committee delivered,” said Blowers. “This new agreement brings pilot quality of life in line with their peers.”

The contract will go into effect on March 2 and becomes amendable in December 2026.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 62,000 pilots at 38 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit the ALPA website at alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @ALPAPilots.

-###-

CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org