Horizon and IBT Reach Tentative Agreement on Pilot Contract

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Sep 17, 2010, 03:06 ET

SEATTLE, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizon Air and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) jointly announced today that, with the assistance of federal mediation, they have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract for the airline's 673 pilots.

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The IBT expects to be ready to present the details of the agreement to Horizon's pilots by late October. The ratification vote would take place immediately following.

No details about the contract terms will be released until the conclusion of the voting process.

Horizon's pilot contract became amendable in September 2006. After years of negotiations, in January 2010 both Horizon and the IBT requested federal mediation to work through the remaining open items. In June, an agreement in principle was reached, and the negotiation teams spent the subsequent months finalizing the details.

Per federal law, airline contracts don't expire. An existing contract remains in effect after the amendable date until a new contract is agreed to by the negotiating teams and ratified by represented members.

Horizon serves 45 cities throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Baja California Sur (Mexico), and British Columbia and Alberta (Canada). Together, Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines serve more than 90 cities and are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK).

SOURCE Horizon Air