Delta, Pilots Agree On Recalls

Locked in what could be a battle to the corporate death, financially-ailing Delta Airlines and its pilots, members of the ALPA, can at least agree on one thing: recalling retired and furloughed flight crew members in the face of a growing pilot shortage.

But the pilots didn't do it out of any sense of altruism. Instead, they extracted from the airline a promise not to terminate their pension fund until February at the earliest -- even if Delta files for bankruptcy protection.

In a letter to its members, ALPA leaders said they agreed to the compromise because they now believe Delta's threat to file bankruptcy.

"The CEO's threat was deemed credible based on the company's precarious financial condition," Malone wrote in his letter to pilots. "Your elected representatives took a broader view of the threat to our career and attempted to secure as much pension plan protection as possible as part of any agreement addressing staffing concessions."

Delta's pilots are the best-paid in the business, a sore spot with management as it scrambles to cut costs. The airline has repeatedly asked pilots for pay cuts of at least 30-percent. So far, the union has refused, offering a nine-percent reduction earlier this year.

FMI: www.delta.com