Alaska and Hawaiian Pilots Finally Have a Joint Contract Deal. Here's What's in It.

It took more than 600 days, but Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines pilots finally have a joint contract to vote on. On Nov. 11, the union leadership for both pilot groups, the Alaska and Hawaiian Master Executive Councils of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), unanimously approved a tentative agreement on a joint collective bargaining agreement. It now goes to the combined pilot membership for a ratification vote.

The facts

ALPA says the Alaska council represents about 3,400 pilots and the Hawaiian council more than 1,200. Joint bargaining with Alaska management began in February 2025, following a merger first announced in December 2023. Negotiators used the Alaska contract as the base and folded in key pieces of the Hawaiian pilots' working agreement, according to a 76-page guide to the deal summarized by Aero Crew News.

The highlights, per that summary:

• Pay: New rates take effect Jan. 31, 2027, with raises every year through 2030. A 12-year widebody captain (787, A330 and A330F are paid the same) goes from $493.41 an hour in 2027 to $539.16 in 2030. A 12-year 737 captain goes from $401.09 to $438.28, and a 12-year 737 first officer from $273.94 to $299.34. Rates are also set for the 717, 737 MAX 10, and A321neo.

• Market rate adjustment: Each year, rates move up to the average of American, Delta, Southwest and United on comparable equipment, or rise 3 percent, whichever is greater.

• Late-night override: An extra $14 an hour for segments operating between 0200 and 0345, stacking with international and ETOPS overrides.

• Retirement: Company 401(k) contributions rise to 18 percent, and the company picks up plan administrative costs.

• Scope: The share of small regional aircraft flown under capacity-purchase deals drops from 43 to 40 percent of the mainline fleet, Alaska must fly at least 94 percent of domestic codeshare and interline segments, and the contract requires two pilots in the flight deck at all times.

• Deadheading: Business class or better for deadheads over five hours, for deadheads over three hours followed by a flying leg, and for any deadhead during the window of circadian low. Lie-flat seats for domestic deadheads over eight hours and international deadheads over six.

• Other items: Indexed per diem, reimbursement for two FAA medicals a year, plus passport renewals and required visas.

The deal would run four years and become amendable Jan. 30, 2031.

Why it matters

Mergers look finished from the outside long before they're finished on the line. The FAA issued Alaska and Hawaiian a single operating certificate in late 2025, but until the pilots are under one contract, you still have two groups flying under two rulebooks. A joint contract is the foundation everything else gets built on, and ALPA's own pilot group page lists combining the two seniority lists as a separate milestone still ahead.

For anyone who has flown the line, a few of these items jump off the page more than the pay table. The late-night override is a direct nod to how hard those 2 a.m. legs are on the body. The deadhead rules matter too: sitting upright in coach for six hours after a long duty day and then being expected to fly is a fatigue problem, not a comfort complaint. And the market rate adjustment ties Alaska and Hawaiian pay to the big four every year, which is how a mid-size airline stays competitive when everyone is fighting for the same experienced pilots.

The scope language is the part travelers never see but should care about. It sets how much flying can go to regional partners versus mainline crews, and the two-pilot requirement puts in writing what most passengers already assume.

What's next

Nothing is final until the pilots vote. Capt. Drew Coyle, the Alaska MEC chair, put it plainly: "Now it's our pilots' turn to review the agreement, ask the tough questions, and decide whether it meets their expectations." Capt. Larry Payne, the Hawaiian MEC chair, said that if approved, the agreement "will establish the foundation for future contracts as we move forward together as one pilot group." Before voting, the union plans to release an FAQ and other materials and hold virtual and in-person roadshows across the pilot bases. ALPA hasn't announced the voting dates in the release.

Merging two airlines is about a lot more than paint and logos. We dug into what airline megamergers really mean in our episode on airline mergers and aviation safety: https://www.theblackboxaviationpodcast.com/airline-mergers-and-aviation-safety/ And if you want the day-to-day side of what a pilot contract actually governs, from bidding to line checks, check out: https://www.theblackboxaviationpodcast.com/airline-pilot-life-bidding-and-line-checks/

Sources

• ALPA press release, "After More Than 600 Days of Negotiations, Alaska-Hawaiian Pilot Union Representatives Unanimously Approve Tentative Agreement," Nov. 11, 2026 (no time listed): https://www.alpa.org/press-room/2026/11/after-more-than-600-days-of-negotiations-alahal

• Aero Crew News, "Alaska and Hawaiian Pilots Get Details of Joint Contract Tentative Agreement," published 9:39 PM ET, Nov. 10, 2026 (citing the ALA-HAL JCBA Tentative Agreement Guide): https://aerocrewnews.com/2026/11/10/alaska-and-hawaiian-pilots-get-details-of-joint-contract-tentative-agreement/

• ALPA Alaska Airlines pilot group page (single operating certificate, seniority integration milestone): https://www.alpa.org/supporting-pilots/pilot-groups/alaska-airlines

Photo: Alaska Airlines 737 N967AK and a Hawaiian Airlines A330, by Ziongarage via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).