The pilots of Comair, as represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l. (ALPA), have ratified a concessionary labor agreement, by a narrow 50.57 percent in favor, which will provide an annual savings of $17.3 million to bankrupt Comair Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines . Despite pilot approval, the bankruptcy court must sanction this deal before it becomes official.

"This was not an easy decision, as evidenced by the slim margin of passage," said the Master Executive Council Chairman Capt. J.C. Lawson.

"We hope that this considerable commitment from our membership will help Comair improve its financial position."

The pilot/management settlement, known as Letter of Agreement 01-06, reduces pay rates and retirement benefit levels, and provides other contract relief for the company. It also extends the current contract by four years from the date of signing.

Negotiations between the pilots and management began in early November 2005, following Delta's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which took place two months earlier. In February of that year, the pilots provided some preliminary contract relief in exchange for fleet guarantees and a commitment from the company for no furloughs.

ALPA represents nearly 1,900 Comair pilots at bases located at Cincinnati, New York, Greensboro, N.C., and Orlando, Fla. ALPA International represents 62,000 airline pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada.

FMI: www.alpa.org