Southwest Airlines and Airtran Airways Flight Instructors Ratify Seniority Integration Agreement

DALLAS, Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) is pleased to announce that Flight Instructors from Southwest, represented by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) 557, and Flight Instructors from AirTran Airways voted to ratify their Seniority Integration Agreement. This tentative agreement, reached late last year, integrates the two groups' seniority lists.

"I want to commend all the parties involved for accomplishing something that is very rare in the airline industry—a successfully negotiated integration agreement outside of arbitration," said Capt. Chuck Magill, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Flight Operations. "I couldn't be prouder of both our Flight Instructors and our Pilots for reaching integration agreements in such a forward-thinking and decisive way. Our Flight Operations Team continues to demonstrate Leadership throughout this integration process, and their efforts should be recognized and commended."

The Flight Instructors from AirTran, who currently do not have Union representation, are now integrated into the master TWU 557 seniority list. The AirTran Instructors will continue to work for AirTran until January 2015, but may be moved over to Southwest based on operational needs. TWU 557 represents approximately 70 Southwest Airlines Flight Instructors. AirTran has 17 Instructors.

Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers—offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and has recently acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest serves 72 cities in 37 states and is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 37,000 Employees systemwide.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines

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