Pilots at Southwest Airlines voted to accept a new contract that increases wages and affects retirement plans.
According to a report by Reuters, the new contract raises pay by 15 percent upon ratification, followed by increases of 3 percent annually through 2020, the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association said in a news release. The deal also moves pilots from a company-matching pension plan to one where they are not required to contribute to receive benefits, the union said. It also protects pilots' work in case Southwest chooses to market flights on non-U.S. airlines.
The report stated more than 84 percent of voting pilots approved the deal, with turnout at 96 percent.
The vote comes one week after Southwest flight attendants voted to ratify a new contract. According to the Reuters report, the airline expects the new labor deals to raise its unit costs, excluding fuel and other items, by about 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago.