Alaska’s pilots union asks for more benefits as airline recovers

Talks between Alaska Airlines and its pilots union took a turn when the pilots asked management to bring their benefits up to par with crews at competing airlines. The development is the latest chapter in negotiations that have run for more than 18 months. “We are asking for the same quality-of-life and job security improvements that pilots at other major airlines already enjoy,” the Alaska’s chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a letter to airline CEO Ben Minicucci. “We are asking that you bring these provisions in line with our peers and for the opportunity to vote on a market-rate contract.” The primary request centers on scheduling flexibility, Will McQuillen, chair of the master executive council of Alaska’s ALPA chapter. PIlots are seeking more flexibility to add or drop trips and to schedule missions for a better work-life balance. “This flexibility does not exist in the current contract,” he said, adding that pilots at most other major carriers have the scheduling flexibility Alaska’s pilots seek. The current contract became amendable on April 1, 2020 and has been in force since 2013. In 2017, the contract was amended to incorporate former Virgin America pilots after the merger with that airline closed. Last year, negotiations shifted away from the details of the new contract to how the airline its pilots union would react to the Covid-19 pandemic. “There was a real stall in terms of negotiations,” McQuillen said. “Our contract is frozen in time a decade ago.”<br/>