Southwest, pilots reach preliminary agreement for contract worth $12 billion

Southwest Airlines and union representing the airline’s pilots have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract after three years of negotiating.

After three years of negotiating, Southwest Airlines and the union representing the airline’s pilots reached a preliminary agreement on a new contract on Tuesday. “We are finally at a place where we think the value of our pilots and their productivity is being realized,” said Southwest Airlines Pilots Association President Casey Murray in a statement. “Our pilots and Southwest Airlines customers deserve security and confidence in our future and we believe that this contract achieves that.” Union leadership said they had reached an agreement in principle with Southwest but that the union’s 25-member board would evaluate the deal on Wednesday to determine whether to reach a tentative agreement with Southwest officially. That agreement would open the door for the union’s nearly 11,000 members to vote on the deal. A spokesperson for SWAPA told CNN the contract is worth $12 billion, though she declined to share further details of the deal. Reuters first reported the contract’s dollar amount. In a statement to CNN, Chris Perry, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, said the airline was pleased.