After more than two-and-a-half years of contentious negotiations, the pilots of Frontier Airlines ratified a contract with management on January 10 for a five-year agreement that’s worth $1 billion in new value and includes pay increases averaging 53 percent in the first year of the deal. The contract also includes a $75 million ratification bonus, the highest such payment ever negotiated on a per-pilot basis, and greatly improved medical, insurance, and retirement benefits while strengthening job security and merger provisions.

On January 16, Capt. Joe DePete, ALPA’s president, signed the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Frontier pilot group and the company. The contract took effect the same day.

Read more about the Frontier pilots’ journey in their pilot group profile from the January–February 2019 issue of Air Line Pilot.