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Amerijet, pilots reach tentative labor agreement

3-year deal provides wage and schedule improvements

Eric Kulisch
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Boeing 767 freighters parked at Amerijet’s Miami airport hub. (Photo: Eric Kulisch/FreightWaves)

(UPDATE: Amerijet pilots ratified a new contract, the company and Air Line Pilots Association announced June 23, 2023.)

Miami-based cargo airline Amerijet and its pilots’ union have reached a preliminary agreement on a new three-year contract that includes pay raises near 45%, as well as significant improvements to schedules, work rules and retirement security, the Air Line Pilots Association announced Monday afternoon.

Amerijet has 272 pilots, according to ALPA’s website.

“I am thrilled that the years of hard work and dedication our negotiating committee has given can finally be shared with our pilots to vote on,” said Capt. Tim Millar, chair of the Amerijet ALPA Master Executive Council. “The days of our pilots working under an incredibly subpar and outdated contract will soon be over. It is my sincere hope that the improvements in pay, quality of life, retirement, and insurance will enable the company to recruit and retain pilots to sustain our continued growth into new markets.”

The tentative agreement now goes to union members for ratification. Three weeks of voting will begin on June 2. If approved, the agreement will take effect June 26, ALPA said. 


According to pay scales FreightWaves reviewed, a 12-year captain would see wages increase from $177,00 per year to more than $300,000.

The union said the contract was changed from top to bottom to address pilot issues. 

Amerijet has rapidly grown its fleet during the past three years and now has 25 Boeing 757 and 767 cargo jets as it expands service to the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and now Asia. In October, the company began operating flights from Seoul, South Korea, to South Carolina under contract with Danish logistics and shipping giant Maersk. It also opened a temporary pilot base at Incheon airport in Seoul to support the expansion and the subsequent route addition to China. 

Other Amerijet customers include DHL Express, the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Defense.


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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at [email protected]