Release #: CMT 15.01
November 09, 2015

CommutAir Pilots Reach TA as Airline Announces Refleeting Plan

HERNDON, Va.—ALPA pilots at United Express carrier CommutAir (CMT) have reached a tentative agreement (TA) with their management, the same day the airline unveiled a new pact with its mainline partner to almost triple in size and add jet aircraft to its fleet.

ALPA’s CMT Master Executive Council has unanimously endorsed the TA and will send it to the airline’s 180 pilots for ratification. The four-year agreement would include double-digit pay increases for captains and first officers, lower health insurance premiums, higher company retirement contributions, and improved work rules.

ALPA negotiators reached the agreement only two months after opening negotiations, said CMT Master Executive Council chairman Capt. John Bassett.

“Although this round of contract negotiations was completed very quickly, we did not sacrifice quality for speed. The Negotiating Committee was organized and thoroughly prepared,” Bassett said. “We were further assisted by the Company’s willingness to work quickly, hold frequent negotiating sessions, and rapidly address our concerns in light of the current pilot hiring market. The end result is a major leap forward in almost all aspects of our current collective bargaining agreement.”

Also today, CommutAir publicized a new agreement with United Airlines to begin operating 50-seat Embraer regional jets in early 2016. The airline currently flies 22 Dash-8 Q200 and Q300 turboprop aircraft, and the agreement with United would bring 40 ERJ 145s into the fleet. CommutAir’s pact with United also includes a career progression arrangement where CMT pilots will have a path to jobs at the mainline if they meet United’s hiring standards and other conditions.

Pilots at CommutAir joined ALPA in 2008 and ratified their first union contract in 2011. That contract becomes amendable on December 1.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents over 52,000 pilots at 30 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @WeAreALPA.

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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org