Mesa pilots, management reach tentative labor agreement

Mesa Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), reached a tentative agreement with management June 9 on a new collective bargaining agreement. A ratification vote begins June 26.

According to ALPA, the new deal includes pay raises for all pilots, increased vacation accrual, better retirement benefits and many other contract improvements. 

In April, Mesa pilots requested mediation services from the National Mediation Board to facilitate negotiations on the new accord. The pilot group said it has been in contract negotiations for more than six years with no pay increases since 2010.

Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2011 with 76 aircraft and fewer than 600 pilots. Since then, Mesa has doubled in size, ALPA said in a statement.

Mesa Airlines operates as American Eagle from hubs in Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth and as United Express from Washington Dulles and Houston. Mesa pilots operate 134 aircraft, with more than 600 daily system departures to 124 cities, 38 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas.

The airline plans to add 10 additional Embraer E175 aircraft to its fleet later this year.