Horizon Air Bombardier CRJ700 (CL-600-2C10) N601QX (msn 10009) LGB (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Horizon Air (Seattle/Tacoma) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) jointly announced that, with the assistance of federal mediation, they have reached an agreement in principle on a new contract for the airline’s 686 pilots.

In the coming weeks, Horizon and the IBT will focus on finalizing the language for the agreed-upon items. The intent is to reach a tentative agreement that the IBT would present to Horizon pilots for ratification.

Horizon’s pilot contract became amendable in September 2006. After years of negotiations, in January 2010 both Horizon and the IBT requested federal mediation to work through the remaining open items.

Per federal law, airline contracts don’t expire. An existing contract remains in effect after the amendable date until a new contract is agreed to by the negotiating teams and ratified by represented members.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Bombardier CRJ700 (CL-600-2C10) N601QX (msn 10009) prepares to land at Long Beach.