Pilots approve new contract with American Airlines

The 6-year contract will raise pilots' pay by 4 percent on signing and 2 percent per year after that, with an adjustment in the third year to bring pay in line with that at other big airlines. The union will get 13.5 percent of the stock in the new AMR when it emerges from bankruptcy, which analysts estimate would amount to at least $100,000 per pilot.

In exchange, pilots will fly more hours and American will get more flexibility to outsource flying to other airlines.

American, which has already frozen pension plans and made other changes in benefits and work rules, is trying to use the bankruptcy process to cut annual labor costs by 17 percent or about $1 billion.

In recent months flight attendants and ground workers have ratified separate contracts that reduced benefits and outsourced thousands of jobs. Both groups won incentives that encouraged several thousand workers to take early retirement.

In February American announced plans to cut 14,000 jobs. After negotiations with the unions, that number fell to about 10,000. Voluntary departures will reduce layoffs to 3,000, according to Hicks, the AMR spokesman.

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