Atlas Air has completed a new joint collective bargaining agreement (JCBA) for its Atlas Air and Southern Air pilots, who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).
The five-year JCBA is one of the last major steps in completing Atlas Air’s merger with Southern Air, which it acquired in 2016.
The JCBA was achieved through a contractual merger process, which included negotiations followed by binding arbitration to resolve remaining open items. Under this new long-term agreement, Atlas Air and Southern Air pilots will receive higher pay and enhanced benefits as part of the overall competitive package.
“At Atlas, our people are our greatest strength, and our more than 2,500 pilots deserve this new agreement that provides them with significantly improved pay and benefits,” said John W. Dietrich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide.
“Our pilots are the best in the business and fly an unrivaled fleet across our global network to serve our customers,” said Mr. Dietrich. “With this new agreement in place, we look forward to continuing to grow our company and creating more opportunities for pilots to grow their careers.”
“Our company has long prepared for this investment in our pilots and has factored these new terms and conditions into customer contract negotiations,” Mr. Dietrich added. “We continue to see strong demand for our aircraft and services as we expand and extend customer agreements. We are well-positioned to leverage the diversity of our business model to capitalize on very favorable global airfreight market conditions.”
Pay increases will be effective in October, with the remaining terms and conditions to be implemented in the coming months in collaboration with the union. Once the new terms, conditions and timing of implementation are fully assessed, the company says that it will provide an updated outlook.
