American Airlines reaches interim deal to hike ground staff wages

[BENGALURU] American Airlines Group Inc said it had reached an interim agreement with a labour union to raise wages for about 30,000 of its ground staff, effectively immediately.

The company said on Friday it expected the hike to increase its pretax operating costs by about US$75 million in the third quarter and US$120 million in the fourth quarter.

The wage hikes will range between 15 per cent and 55 per cent, American Airlines said in a statement.

The TWU-IAM Association is an alliance between the Transport Workers Union and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

REUTERS