Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide finalize new labor agreement with pilots

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (New York) today announced that it has completed a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement with pilots and flight engineers of Atlas Air, Inc. and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc. The agreement, which is effective from September 2011, completes the merger of the Atlas and Polar crew forces into a single collective bargaining unit with an integrated seniority list.

Under the terms of the new agreement, both pilot groups will be brought to parity with each other and work from a single contract.

The merger of the Atlas and Polar crew forces into a single workforce will also enable the Company to better optimize crew work schedules and improve the global scale and efficiency of its entire operation. Going forward, all of the Company’s pilots will be able to serve Atlas and Polar aircraft interchangeably. Previously, Atlas pilots could only serve Atlas aircraft and Polar pilots could only serve Polar aircraft.

Now that leaves notably US Airways (East-West), Southwest-AirTran and United-Continental to work out a similar plan.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.