After four years of negotiations and an earlier failed proposal, the pilots union at Southwest Airlines Co. said Monday that it reached an agreement in principle with the budget airline on a new four-year pact.

Once the final language is settled, the proposal will go to the directors of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association union, who will meet in mid-September to determine whether the offer should be put to a vote by its 8,400 pilots. The process would conclude in early November

The tentative pact would provide retroactive pay increases back to 2013 and a compensation package that is comparable to those of pilots at the three largest U.S. airlines, the union said. It also would change the retirement plan to align it with industry standard practices.

Southwest would win the ability, on a limited basis, to form partnerships with overseas airlines.

This breakthrough comes at a time when the pilots' ire has been mounting, leading to informational picketing at airports and calls for Gary Kelly, Southwest's chief executive, to step down.

Southwest still has other contracts with workers yet to be amended. Its flight attendants already have rejected one tentative agreement.

Write to Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 29, 2016 18:05 ET (22:05 GMT)

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