Tentative Agreement on the Integration of the Two Groups' Seniority Lists Headed to Members of Both Flight Instructor Employee Groups for a Ratification Vote

DALLAS, Dec. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines is pleased to announce a tentative Seniority Integration Agreement has been reached between the Transport Workers Union (TWU) 557, the union representing Southwest Airlines Flight Instructors, and the Flight Instructors of AirTran Airways. This tentative agreement would integrate the two groups' seniority lists. The TWU 557 Executive Committee and the Employee Committee representing the AirTran Flight Instructors voted to pass this tentative agreement forward to their respective members, which now allows each group to review the proposed agreement and ultimately put it to a ratification vote. Southwest Airlines finalized closing of the acquisition of AirTran Holdings, Inc., on May 2, 2011.

"I want to commend the Company and Union negotiating teams for reaching this critical point in the integration process," said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "All parties never lost focus on the ultimate goal of creating an integrated seniority list and transition plan for our Flight Instructors outside of arbitration."

"In what historically has proven to be a difficult and tumultuous process, we once again showed what initiative and persistence can accomplish," added Capt. Chuck Magill, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Flight Operations. "Much like our Pilots before them, our Flight Instructor groups demonstrated forward-thinking Leadership through this integration process, and their efforts should be recognized and commended."

Reaching a negotiated agreement avoids the arbitration process and gives both groups ownership of the combined list. Each Flight Instructor group will now spend the next several weeks reviewing the tentative agreement before putting it up for a ratification vote. TWU 557 represents approximately 70 Southwest Airlines Flight Instructors, and AirTran has 18.

In its 40th year of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers--offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and has recently acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest serves 72 cities in 37 states and is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 37,000 Employees systemwide.

 

 

SOURCE Southwest Airlines

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