JetBlue Airways Corp.’s pilots approved the first labor contract in the carrier’s history.
The four-year pact was approved by 74 percent of those voting, with 98 percent of eligible pilots participating, the Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement Friday. The agreement is effective Aug. 1 and was reached after more than three years of negotiations.
The contract raises pay rates for Airbus A320 pilots by 18.5 percent and for the carrier’s Embraer 190 pilots by 6.8 percent, on average, the JetBlue ALPA chapter said in an email. Pilots also gained better vacation and disability benefits, the union said.
