It appears that US Airways President Doug Parker has made a huge move towards acquiring American Airlines! Rather than negotiate with American Airlines CEO Tome Horton, US Airways went straight to the employees with their negotiations. Seems like a very smart move especially considering that the three major unions at American have seats on the unsecured creditors committee. Last Friday all three major unions at American announced their full support for a merger with US Airways. In addition the APA representing the pilot of American Airlines have agreed to the basic framework of contract terms for the combined carrier.

The APA reported to their pilots the terms of a six year contract. Should the merger go through as planned, American Airlines pilots will be among the most highly compensated of the Legacy Carriers and provide a large boost in pay for the US Airways pilots. Proposed pay for a narrow body Narrowbody Captain are as follows:

• Date of Signing Pay Rate: $172.44
• 3% annual increase for years 2-6

• Year 2: $177.61
• Year 3: $182.94
• Year 4: $188.43
• Year 5: $194.08
• Year 6: $199.90

• Parity with UAL/DAL average at the end of the contract if those companies average is higher than our pay rate

• F/O pay rate 68% of Captain rate.

We believe that a merger with American and US Airways will not only be a win-win for the pilots involved but for all pilots in the industry! There will no longer be a large spread in pay from one Legacy Carrier to the next. This should help the airlines to compete while also raising the bar for all future pilot contract negotiations at all airlines!

We invite you to please discuss the American Airlines and US Airways merger on our pilot forums.