The union representing pilots at American Airlines said on Thursday it has asked the company to boost pilot pay by 30.5 percent next year, followed by annual 5 percent increases.

The proposal also calls for bonuses equaling 15 percent of each pilot's total pay over the duration of the talks between the Allied Pilots Association (APA) and American Airlines' parent AMR.

Negotiations opened in July, but the contract cannot be amended until May 1, 2008.

An AMR spokeswoman said in a statement that the company would review APA's proposal, but that the carrier has higher labor costs than its rivals.

"We'll need to balance any proposal that affects our competitive position against this fact," Sue Gordon said.

The APA's proposal comes less than two weeks after AMR disclosed that Chief Executive Gerard Arpey's 2006 compensation amounted to USD$5.4 million and that he would be paid USD$6.64 million as part of his 2007 compensation.

The union, whose members have given up USD$1.8 billion a year through pay cuts and work rule changes, complains that airline managers' compensation has recovered faster than workers' since the 2003 restructuring. AMR executives made sacrifices alongside the workers during the reorganization.

The bulk of Arpey's compensation comes from stock awards that hinge on company performance. It is common in the United States for a portion of executive pay to be put at risk.

Most major carriers outside of bankruptcy posted first-quarter profits as the industry recovers from a slump.

AMR reported last month that it earned a first-quarter net profit of USD$81 million, reversing a year-ago loss.

But the industry outlook dimmed somewhat as carriers warned of softening domestic demand and weaker revenue.