ALPA's Communications Department provides information and support for news media inquiries. An ALPA communications representative can be reached in the Herndon, Va. office at (703) 481-4440.

News Release

Release #03.093
December 30, 2003

PHOENIX— Almost four years since the opening of negotiations, the pilots at America West Airlines (AWA) have ratified a new contract. Of the 1,505 pilots eligible to vote, 96.35 percent participated with 771 pilots, or 53.17 percent voting for the proposed three-year agreement. Captain Terry Stadler, chairman of the America West Airlines pilots’ Master Executive Council, part of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), issued the following statement today.

"We are pleased that the pilot group voted in favor of this contract, which serves as the foundation for our future. While most of our objectives were met, it is clear that we need to continue working to bring this pilot group up to a position of parity with our industry peers. However, we see this new contract as a step in the right direction and will continue our efforts to better the wages and working conditions for the America West pilots."

This is the third tentative agreement voted on by the AWA pilots this year. Earlier this month, the pilot group rejected a proposal by a 725 to 720 vote. The ALPA pilots and AWA management agreed on a proposal in October while in Washington, D.C. at the National Mediation board. The two parties resumed negotiations in September after the National Mediation Board suspended negotiations with the pilot group and management in March, after pilots overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement the two sides had reached in December 2002. Contract talks had begun in February 2000, and the NMB assigned a federal mediator to facilitate negotiations in May 2001. The NMB temporarily suspended talks after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s oldest and largest pilot union, representing 66,000 members at 42 airlines in the United States and Canada, including nearly 1,700 pilots at America West Airlines. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org

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ALPA CONTACT: Amy Scarlett, (602) 306-1208