PHOENIX (AP) -- America West Airlines has reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract with the airline's 1,549 pilots, the company said Monday.þþIf approved, the contract drafted by a federal mediator would bring an end to the longest mediated case in the history of the National Mediation Board, said Ted Phipps, secretary-treasurer of the America West Air Line Pilots Association.þþ``We're pleased that we've reached an agreement with such an important, major employee group,'' said Patty Nowack, a spokeswoman for Tempe, Ariz.-based America West.þþNegotiations began in February 2000 but stalled after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Talks resumed at the end of April and on Saturday pilot union leaders narrowly approved the contract.þþThe contract will now go before all pilots for a vote in late January, Phipps said.þþPilots sought better schedules, pay increases and more benefits. Specifically, they demanded more retirement benefits since America West pilots, who are forced to retire at 60, currently have only a 401(k).þþThe proposed agreement does not address that issue, and does not include retroactive pay. But the company agreed to form a committee to look into retirement issues, Phipps said.þþThe contract offers pilots an 11 percent raise over three years, improved scheduling and better job protection from outside contracting. Pilots would receive an additional 3 percent raise at the end of the three-year period.þþ``It is what it is, and we have to vote based on economic circumstances,'' Phipps said. ``It all comes down to dollars and cents.''þþAmerica West serves 88 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It has hubs in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio.þþShares of airline parent America West Holdings Corp. rose 5 cents to close at $1.95 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.þþ
Source: NY Times
