Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways pilots move closer to seniority integration

Southwest Airlines' pilots union has reached an agreement in principle with the pilots union for AirTran Airways, the low-cost airline it bought in May.

Southwest said in a statement released on Saturday that its pilots union and AirTran Airways pilots union had agreed to integrate its seniority lists for pilots and avoid an arbitration process.

The boards of both unions still need to approve the deal before it can go through.

Southwest Airlines completed its acquisition of AirTran Holdings for about USD$1 billion in May, positioning itself to challenge bigger carriers in big US East Coast markets while eliminating a major low-cost rival.

(Reuters)