Contract Stays; Mediation Ceases

World Airways has received notification from the National Mediation Board that its case with the flight attendants was put in recess until further notice. This means that mediation efforts will be discontinued indefinitely and the current contract will remain in effect.

The Company had returned to mediation on April 15, 2003, at the request of the National Mediation Board. After intense mediation, a contract proposal was presented to the flight attendant union, and the proposal was subsequently rejected by the flight attendant negotiating team.

The flight attendants, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Local 210), rejected the contract proposal that was put out for a vote on November 27, 2002. This vote came after 2½ years of negotiations with the flight attendants and had included nine months of mediation. The collective bargaining agreement with the flight attendants had become amendable on July 1, 2000.

No vote, no change; nobody happy...

Hollis Harris, chairman and chief executive officer of World Airways, said, "We are disappointed that the flight attendant negotiating team did not take the contract proposal to the membership for a vote. We believe that we developed a very fair proposal, especially in light of the current economic environment in the airline industry, that had included pay raises and other benefit increases over the next three years. However, the indefinite recess will allow us to devote our time and energy to focus on our operations and to building profitability."

FMI: www.worldair.com