ExpressJet Pilot Leaders Agree to Novel Pay Scale Credit Plan

The pilots of U.S. regional airline ExpressJet reached a tentative agreement with airline management this week on a new program that will allow current flight crew and new-hire applicants with similar experience at other carriers to count previous years of service toward their total longevity at ExpressJet and/or Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA). The tentative deal would allow pilots to count up to 10 years of previous experience at Federal Aviation Regulation Part 121 carriers toward their tenures for purposes of hourly pay according to the specific equipment and status. That experience would also count toward benefits such as the 401(k) retirement match, defined contributions and vacation accrual. Applicants must have parted from their prior employer in good standing and have accumulated at least one year of equivalent experience in order to qualify. Current ExpressJet/ASA pilots who previously separated in good standing from a Part 121 carrier would receive the benefits of the agreement upon the date of signing.

“We anticipate this agreement will encourage prospective pilots to apply at ExpressJet,” said Chromer Smith, chairman of Atlantic Southeast Airlines’ Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) unit.

St. George, Utah-based SkyWest, the parent company of Atlantic Southeast, bought ExpressJet Airlines in 2010. ExpressJet and Atlantic Southeast began operating under a single FAA certificate in November 2011 and a month later ASA adopted the ExpressJet name. However, the pilots of the two units continue to bargain as distinct groups.

SkyWest remains in broader negotiations with ALPA over new contract for ExpressJet’s two pilot groups. The pilots of its SkyWest Airlines subsidiary agreed to terms on a new four-year deal that took effect July 1.