Regional Carrier Piedmont Airlines And ALPA Pilots Sign Industry Leading Contract Deal

Piedmont Airlines, a regional partner of American Airlines, and its pilots said Friday night that they have reached agreement on the regional airline industry’s best contract.

“With this contract, Piedmont is the leading regional carrier in compensation with the best possible path to a mainline flying career at American,” said Ryan Miller, chairman of the Piedmont chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association.

“It will help with retention and recruiting and help Piedmont grow and be the airline to work at,” said Miller, a three-year Piedmont captain based in Philadelphia

Negotiators reached a deal at 6:45 p.m. Friday. It was quickly ratified by the four-member ALPA master executive committee. Piedmont has about 700 pilots.

The deal comes three days after ALPA officials blasted the regional industry during a conference call with reporters, saying some regional carriers pay subpar wages, which make them unable to retain pilots.

Their failure to retain, combined with widespread pilot training bottlenecks induced by the pandemic and tight crew scheduling, has led to widespread discussion of a pilot shortage, which ALPA says does not exist.

“This transformative approach to pilot compensation will make pilots at Piedmont the highest paid in the regional airline industry,” said a letter to pilots from Miller and Stephen Keefer, Piedmont vice president of flight operations.

“With the supportability premium, our pilot wages will be 50-70% higher (57% on average) than the next highest paid regional carrier, Endeavor,” the letter said. “Including all bonuses, a new hire pilot should expect to make 31% more than pilots at Endeavor and 10% more than pilots at leading ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) over the first five years.”

“We are grateful for a Piedmont – ALPA partnership that allows us to strategically position Piedmont as the leading regional carrier not just in terms of performance and reliability, but now, compensation,” the letter said.

Under the new contract, a four-year Piedmont captain’s salary immediately goes to $157 per hour including 50% pay premium that remains in place until 2024. That rises to $161 per hour in 2023. A one-year first officer’s pay goes to $90 per hour including a $30 per hour premium. In 2023, first-year first officer pays rises to $93 per hour.

Under the flow agreement, pilots go to top scale at the end of the fifth year if they have not advanced to American mainline.

The deal extends until 2029. The existing contract was signed in 2014 and was set to remain in place until 2024, but it has been amended by several letters of agreement that have improved pilot working conditions in scheduling, commuting and other areas. In 2014, Piedmont transitioned from the DashDASH
-8 aircraft to Embraer E145s.

Piedmont has 260 daily departures, including about 100 from Philadelphia and 60 from Charlotte. Crew bases are located in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

The deal “not only represents a significant financial commitment, but a commitment to building a pilot and training group ready to take on new opportunities for Piedmont and American Airlines (and offers) a new financial future and better quality of life to our pilots,” the letter said.

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