The number of pandemics on Southwest Airlines is a proud test: it has never reduced or cut workers’ wages in 50 years of long flight.

The Dallas-based airline said it would ask the trade union, which represents 80 percent of its workforce, to cut wages by the end of 2021.

“It’s a shared sacrifice, and I think this is the kind of company I would like for that mission,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told CNBC.Squaw box“Tuesday. Kelly said he was giving up his basic salary until the end of next year.

Airlines are preventing money burning due to the demand for air travel, which has been stuck at one-third of last year’s standards as pandemics prevent many potential customers from flying. In September, the Transportation Security Administration displayed an average of 716,000 people a day at U.S. airports, up from 2.2 million a year earlier.

Last week, United Airlines and American Airlines began forelogging 32,000 employees, A move they say will be recouped if more federal aid is received.

U.S. Airlines has agreed not to cut jobs until Oct. 1 on the condition of $ 25 billion in federal aid. The Southwest is committed to not cutting or cutting workers’ wages by the end of this year, thanks to the thousands of workers who have partially accepted purchases or volunteered for the holiday.

But with the slow recovery, the Southwest is pushing Congress and the Trump administration to allow $ 25 billion in additional federal aid to support the payroll, as well as U.S. rivals and trade unions, usually at the expense of carriers.

The proposal has garnered bipartisan support, but has put Congress and the White House in crisis over the new, national corona virus stimulus package, which could include airline support. An attempt to put forward a bill for more airline assistance failed on Friday.

“Any reasonable person would understand that this is a big crisis for airlines, but for the country,” Kelly told CNBC.

Kelly told employees late Monday that he wants to reach cost-cutting agreements with unions by January 1 and that the furloughs will be a last resort if deals are not reached.

Southwest will cut salaries if Congress passes additional airline pay support.