After two years of bargaining, Alaska Airlines has reached a tentative agreement with a union representing its flight attendants to avoid a potential strike during the busy summer travel season.
The agreement caps multiple trade union actions organized by the Association of Flight Attendants over the past two years, including several pickets held at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
“All of our actions together and the leverage we created made it possible to achieve this tentative agreement,” AWA said in a statement, adding that the deal has yet to be ratified by its membership.
Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) executive vice president and chief operating officer Constance von Muehlen represented the company in final negotiations.
“We are pleased to announce we have reached a tentative agreement with our flight attendant union, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), on a new contract,” the Seattle, Washington-based airline operator said.
The deal comes at a time when several other U.S. airlines—American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL)—face protracted negotiations with their flight attendant unions over new contracts.
This week, contract negotiations between American Airlines (AAL) and its flight attendants union ended without success, which means the company risks a potential strike within weeks.