NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) representatives reached in principle a tentative agreement with NetJets that would provide an average pay increase of 28 percent over five years in all fleets, and hold down increases on health care costs, according to a NJASAP summary of the agreement obtained by AIN. The health care costs and wage ratios were among the key stumbling blocks in the prolonged negotiations between NetJets and the pilots’ union.

In the overview, NJASAP tells pilots that the pay levels, which vary according to aircraft size and seniority, average to a 38 percent increase over eight years. A large-cabin captain could see a 26-percent wage increase improvement over the first five years, while a small-cabin first officer could see a 45-percent jump. The contract also includes signing bonuses equal to $150 per month of service, up to a maximum of $30,000. “The Executive Board, Negotiating Committee, our outside experts and consultants are unequivocal on these points: This is the very best deal to be made, and no money was left on the table,” the association said, adding further that pilot health care is unchanged and “the level of scalability [management] sought was denied.”

NJASAP released the overview to its membership on October 19, less than a week after reaching the agreement in principle with NetJets on October 14. The union has been in the final stages of reviewing the tentative agreement and hopes to release the full proposal for its pilots' members review by the end of this month, a source close to the union said.

The release of the details will come in advance of a referendum period, set for November 30 to December 20, when the NJASAP membership is to vote on the proposed contract. The tentative agreement culminates more than two years of sometimes-contentious negotiations between the union and the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary that ultimately ended in mediation. “Getting to this point has required a massive effort from top to bottom,” NJASAP president Pedro Leroux had said in announcing the tentative agreement.

The union’s executive board and negotiating committee are unanimously recommending the ratification of the deal, the source said.