Alaska Airlines agrees to Virgin America, Alaska pilots contract talks

Elected leaders of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, voted Dec 15 to accept a transition and process agreement (TPA) with Alaska Airlines management to define the process for negotiating a joint collective bargaining agreement. Negotiations are scheduled to begin Jan 2017. “Reaching an agreement on a process to negotiate a contract that brings the professional pilots of Virgin America and Alaska together, under one contract, is an important first step toward creating one pilot group,” the Virgin America and Alaska Master Executive Councils said. The TPA agreement comes a week after the US Department of Justice approved Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Virgin America, clearing the path for the merger of the two companies. <br/>