KLM agrees to 4.75% wage hike, ticket discounts for pilots, trade union says

Airline KLM and the trade unions have reached an agreement on a new collective labor agreement for the airline’s pilots, the chairman of the pilots’ union VNV told Financieele Dagblad. KLM pilots’ salaries will rise by 4.75 percent over two years, and the scheme that lets pilots purchase cheaper tickets has been expanded.

Pilots will receive a discount on airline tickets for up to four years after the retirement age of 58, chairman Ruud Stegers of VNV, the largest trade union representing airline pilots in the Netherlands, told FD.

The involved trade unions still have to present the agreement to their members for approval. The previous collective labor agreement for the around 3,600 pilots at KLM expired in March last year. The negotiations have been long and hard, with pilots threatening strikes.

KLM initially did not want to raise pilots’ salaries. The Dutch airline’s profitability is significantly lower than that of its sister company, Air France, and KLM wants to cut costs. The war in the Middle East also means significantly higher fuel costs.

But the pilots and trade unions found it unfair that the pilots would not get a wage increase after ground staff were awarded a 3.25 percent salary hike. Incidentally, trade unions forced KLM to raise its ground crew wages partly by arguing that it was unfair that pilots received €29 million in returns in January last year.

Stegers spoke of a “balanced agreement” with the Dutch airline. “Especially in view of KLM’s situation, the high costs of Schiphol, and the increased fuel prices.”