Makes Presentation At MEC Meeting

It's no secret pilots at Northwest Airlines are more than a little skeptical about the future, as their carrier moves towards a merger with -- some would say takeover by -- Delta Air Lines. Those ill-feelings weren't helped by Delta's maneuvering to negotiate a contract with its own pilots ahead of the April 14 announcement -- talks Northwest pilots weren't invited to.

Hoping to ease those concerns, on Thursday Delta CEO President and Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian was sent by management to talk with leaders of the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association... a rare event, as executives with one airline seldom meet with workers at another. Bastian came at the invitation of those Northwest pilots, to speak at their Master Executives Council meeting.

The Associated Press reports Bastian made a two-hour-plus presentation to Northwest pilots, presumably to curry their favor in reaching an agreement on a joint contract with their counterparts at Delta. "It gave us a chance to talk about our respective views towards the future and how best to make certain that the merger's going to be a success," Bastian said.

As ANN reported, initial merger talks earlier this year broke down after pilots on both sides failed to agree on such terms... but as time passed, assertions from Delta and Northwest that such an agreement was vital to any merger deal became less important, and the eventual merger went forward with approval only from Delta pilots.

Now, Northwest pilots say they want immediate pay raises, to bring them in line with their counterparts at Delta. The pilots say Delta favors a more gradual approach.

Bastian wouldn't comment on whether he was asked about those raises. "It wasn't a negotiating session," he said. "They expressed their views, and I heard them, and I understand them."

Dave Stevens, chairman of the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, says he stressed to the Delta exec that "to have a successful merger, all pilots and all employees have to be treated the same."

FMI: www.delta.com, www.nwa.com, www.newglobalairline.com