Breeze Pilots’ Union Files Lawsuit Against Breeze Airways for Bad Faith Bargaining

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah—Breeze Airways pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA), filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah today against Breeze Airways. The lawsuit asserts that Breeze, led by CEO David Neeleman, has engaged in bad faith bargaining and interfered with pilots’ rights to effective union representation.

“This lawsuit underscores ALPA's unwavering commitment to enforce the protections guaranteed under the Railway Labor Act (RLA),” said Breeze Master Executive Council (MEC) chair Capt. Alex Kluge. “Breeze’s sustained pattern of bad faith bargaining and undermining of the pilots’ union under CEO David Neeleman has deprived our pilots of the rights guaranteed under the RLA, making today’s legal action both necessary and unavoidable.”

Breeze pilots have been negotiating for a first collective bargaining agreement since early 2023. During that time, as noted in the filing, Breeze management has consistently obstructed the bargaining process and bypassed and denigrated ALPA, the Breeze pilots’ bargaining representative; this behavior clearly violates Breeze’s obligations under the Railway Labor Act, the federal framework for peaceful resolution of labor disputes in the railway and airline industries. Management has persistently stalled negotiations so that after three years of frustrating negotiations, only 15 of 31 sections have tentative agreements, only two of which were reached during all of 2025.

“This lawsuit is about accountability. We are asking the court to require Breeze to comply with its legal obligations under the RLA; to engage in genuine, good faith bargaining; and to properly deal with ALPA as it is required to do under the law,” said Capt. Kluge. “Our goal remains the same: an industry-standard contract that gives Breeze pilots the stability and respect they deserve while supporting the airline’s growth.”

The complaint asks the court to order Breeze to bargain in good faith under the RLA and cease actions that interfere with the pilots’ legal rights to effective union representation. ALPA will provide updates as the litigation progresses.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 80,000 pilots at 42 U.S. and Canadian airlines.

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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org

Background:

Breeze Airways pilots joined the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) in 2022 and are currently in negotiations under Section 2 of the Railway Labor Act for their first collective bargaining agreement. Breeze has approximately 625 pilots based in Akron-Canton, Ohio; Providence, R.I.; Tampa, Fort Myers, Vero Beach, and Orlando, Fla.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Hartford, Conn.; Provo, Utah; and New Orleans, La. The airline, headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, serves 77 U.S. destinations and three international locations in Mexico and the Caribbean, operating a fleet of 8 Embraer 190s and 50 Airbus A220s.