Hawaiian Airlines’ pilots union, claiming that further mediation would be futile in its contract negotiations with the company, has petitioned the federal government to be released from mediation and instead be offered arbitration.

In mediation the two sides receive assistance from a neutral third party in facilitating their dispute. In arbitration a decision made by the independent arbitrator would be binding.

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 647 Hawaiian pilots, has been asking for a three- or four-year contract that would increase the total value of their pay package by 45 percent.

The airline said its pilots are well compensated, with a top-of-scale Hawaiian wide-body captain, who has 12 years of seniority in the company, earning an average $242,000 annually for flying 700 hours. In addition, retired Hawaiian pilots receive medical coverage for life for themselves and their spouses, and the company contributes between 15 and 19.4 percent annually to the pilots’ 401(k) plan.

Hawaiian’s contract with ALPA became amendable Sept. 14, and the two sides have been in federal mediation since January.

ALPA, which has been in contract talks with Hawaiian for more than a year, submitted its request to be released from mediation in a letter Wednesday to the National Mediation Board. If the board decides to end mediation, it would be up to the airline and union to decide whether to enter arbitration.

If either the union or the company declines arbitration, the two sides would enter a 30-day cooling-off period, after which time the parties would be free to enter so-called self-help — such as a strike by the pilots or a lockout by the company.

Although the union is requesting arbitration, Capt. Hoon Lee, chairman of Hawaiian’s Master Executive Council, said ALPA still could reject arbitration if the company brings too many issues to the table.

The union said management has failed to bargain realistically, continues to seek bankruptcylike concessions, has offered below-average industry pay and can be expected to continue to resist concluding an agreement without decisive action by the National Mediation Board.

“There is no objective or ascertainable financial or operational reason for the many concessions that Hawaiian Airlines still seeks other than to prolong bargaining and mediation and avoid reaching a comprehensive contract solution,” ALPA President Capt. Tim Canoll said Thursday in a statement.

Hawaiian spokeswoman Ann Botticelli said the company believes the two sides are making progress.

“Hawaiian Airlines values the contributions of our pilots and all of our employees and we are committed to reaching a market-based contract with the Air Line Pilots Association,” Botticelli said in an email. “We have been working consistently since March 2015 to come to terms on a contract that offers our pilots wages, benefits and work rules that are in line with our competitive position in the industry, and we believe continued negotiations will be fruitful.”

Botticelli added that Hawaiian intends to respond to the National Mediation Board by the June 30 deadline regarding the pilots’ request for arbitration.

Mediation sessions are set to resume the week of June 27 in Reston, Va. After that week there are no further sessions scheduled.

A strike by Hawaiian’s pilots would be devastating to the state’s economy since Hawaii’s largest carrier has a more than 90 percent market share of interisland traffic and plays a major role in bringing domestic and international tourists to the state.

Local aviation historian Peter Forman doesn’t rule out the possibility of a strike, but said it might exclude interisland flights.

“In this particular negotiation the two sides are far apart in large part to the very large pay increases that have been given at some of the larger airlines,” he said. “For this reason this would be a very difficult negotiation. I think if the pilots were to go on strike, the federal government would not allow an interisland strike due to an excessively large market share of interisland flying that Hawaiian currently holds. However, the rest of the flying is fair game. The government has the ability to put restrictions on strikes that would damage commerce in a significant way.”

Lee said the pilots want to avoid a strike.

“The last thing we would want to do is go down this path to strike, but we’re being forced to by the company because of their unwillingness to negotiate a fair market contract, especially when they’re enjoying record profits,” he said. “It doesn’t really give us any other choice.”

Hawaiian’s earnings more than doubled in 2015 to $182.6 million.

In May, 99 percent of participating Hawaiian pilots voted to give their union authority to declare a strike.