Friday, May 16, 1997

American Eagle and pilots union reach preliminary deal on contract

By MELISSA WILLIAMS / Associated Press Writer

DALLAS (AP) - American Eagle Airlines and its pilots union have reached a preliminary agreement to replace four affiliates' contracts with a single labor accord, the airline announced Thursday.

The relationship between parent company AMR Corp. and Eagle pilots, who make between $14,000 and $70,000 per year flying regional jets, is growing in importance because of the industry's increased use of the smaller aircraft.

The proposed single contract with the Air Line Pilots Association would offer a single seniority roster for all 1,900 American Eagle pilots. Entering the talks, each of the four affiliates had its own seniority list, which the pilots wanted consolidated.

The affected affiliates are Simmons Airlines of Fort Worth; Executive Airlines of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Flagship Airlines of Nashville, Tenn.; and Wings West Airlines of San Luis Obispo, Calif.

The move portends combining all the affiliates into one unit, said analyst Michael Boyd, president of Aviation Systems Research Inc. of Golden, Colo. Boyd said. American Eagle spokesman Mitch Baranowski declined to comment on that suggestion.

In exchange for the concession, the company likely demanded that the new contract have a longer term than the usual four years, Boyd said.

Baranowski said details of the agreement, including the term and wage adjustments, would be made available after the union's master executive council votes on it on May 28. If the agreement is endorsed, the pilot membership will vote on it in coming weeks.

AMR is also the parent of American Airlines, whose pilot union overwhelmingly ratified a five-year contract earlier this month to end nearly three years of bitter negotiations. The key issue was who would fly the regional jets.