Southwest Airlines and the pilots' union reach a tentative labor agreement

NEW YORK — Southwest Airlines and its pilots reached a tentative labor agreement after three and a half years of negotiations, the last of the four major airlines to reach a deal with pilots.

The Dallas-based airline said Tuesday it was pleased to have reached an agreement in principle, which it called an “important milestone.”

Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but pilots at American, United and Delta have secured pay increases of about 40% over five years.

Southwest pilots opened a “strike center” in Dallas last month and twice asked federal mediators for permission to begin a 30-day countdown to a strike, but were denied both times.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said its 25-member board of directors will review the agreement and, if approved, present it to its approximately 11,000 pilot members.

The tentative deal comes just weeks after Southwest flight attendants rejected a tentative deal after five years of talks during which the group received no pay raises.