Airline passengers walk next to an Allegiant Air commercial flight near an air traffic control tower operated by Serco nc. at the Ogden-Hinckley Airport in Ogden, Utah, March 11, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

By Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Allegiant Air pilots picketed at 22 U.S. airports on Tuesday, demanding higher pay and better scheduling as labor contract talks with the carrier have stalled after several years of negotiations.

The Teamsters union, which represents nearly 1,400 Allegiant pilots, said they are among the most overworked and underpaid in the industry and is seeking industry-standard compensation and improvements to scheduling as frustrated pilots leave the carrier for higher-paying competitors.

"We're losing confidence in management, and we're losing all of the highly skilled experienced pilots. We're losing them to United, Delta, American, anywhere that you're going to be fairly compensated for your work," a pilot told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Why would you stay here at this point?"

Allegiant pilots are currently working under a contract that was ratified in 2016 and became amendable in 2021. First officers in their first year earn about $50,000 annually at Allegiant, compared to regional pilots whose salaries start at $100,000, Gregory Unterseher, director of the Teamsters Airline Division, told Reuters.

ALLEGIANT'S PAY OFFER

Las Vegas-based Allegiant said it has offered an immediate 50% average increase in hourly wages that will rise to 70% over the life of a new 5-year contract. The carrier said it has also offered a 50% increase in its direct contribution to pilots’ retirement benefits and improvements in long-term disability benefits.

While the offered pay rates may look good, the carrier and union haven't agreed on scheduling, the pilot said, adding that Allegiant can move their off days at will and reserve pilots at larger bases work almost every day they are on call.

Teamsters Local 2118 said the carrier is looking to deem 20% of pilots as surplus and force the rest to fly maximum schedules. Allegiant denied this claim.

"If we are able to strike, we'll do it in an instant. We won't hesitate to shut the airline down," Unterseher said.

In November 2024, Allegiant pilots voted by 97% to authorize a strike. The union in April requested that the National Mediation Board release them from mediation in order to do so. Allegiant said the union has not met the conditions to legally call for a strike.

As contract negotiations drag on, the company is at risk of facing staffing issues as frustrated pilots seek higher-paying jobs with competitors at a time when the carrier is seeking to expand its presence amid Spirit Airlines' second bankruptcy.

Allegiant said on Tuesday it is adding 30 new nonstop routes and entering four new markets.

To retain pilots, Allegiant has been accruing a retention bonus since June 2023 that represents an 82% pay increase for first-year first officers and a 35% pay increase for all other pilots which will be paid out in cash once a new contract is ratified, according to the company.

"For senior captains, that retention bonus has already exceeded $200,000 and counting," a spokesperson said.

"You gotta give people a fair contract if you want to keep them around," the pilot said. "The retention bonus is really not a serious factor for me."

(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski and Frances Kerry)