Deals Allow For Cost Savings And, Perhaps, Midwest's Very Survival

Midwest Airlines pilots and flight attendants have reached a tentative cost-cutting agreement with the airline. The idea is to keep the struggling airline solvent and prevent a possible bankruptcy.

"This agreement provides the airline with the cost savings management says it needs to help pull Midwest out of this financial crisis," said AFA Midwest Express Master Executive Council President Toni Phillips. "This is an extremely difficult situation for the flight attendants, but we have committed to making an investment in our airline so that Midwest will be strong and our careers will be secure in the years ahead."

Pilots: It's Not Our Fault, But We're Here To Help

The ALPA negotiators finalized the relief package with management late Thursday evening. It now goes to the airline's 285 active pilots for a ratification vote, which is scheduled to be completed by midnight on Tuesday, July 15.

Capt. Jerome Schnedorf, Chairman of the Midwest unit of ALPA, said the elected union leadership and Negotiating Committee unanimously recommended that the pilot group vote in favor of the restructuring agreement.

"While we maintain that our pilots are not the cause of our airline's financial difficulties, in the end we must focus on turning our airline around considering the current economic situation in the industry," Schnedorf said.

On Thursday, the ALPA unit representing Skyway Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Midwest Holdings, Inc. tentatively agreed to a multi-year contract also designed to avert a bankruptcy filing. The company warned last month that it would seek protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in mid-July if it did not receive substantial financial concessions from its unions and leaseholders.

If ratified, the restructuring agreement will represent the second time in less than six months that Midwest's pilots have agreed to concessions. Midwest pilots have been earning reduced salaries that had been slated to continue until Nov. 1 under the terms of a temporary financial relief package that was ratified by the union leadership earlier this year. More than 28 percent of Midwest's pilots are already on furlough.

"Our primary goal in these negotiations was to find a solution that addressed the needs of our airline while retaining an individual pilot's ability to maintain his monthly income to the extent possible. We believe that the restructuring agreement meets that goal," Schnedorf said.

Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines operates a fleet of DC-9, MD-82, MD-88 and Boeing 717 aircraft to 24 cities throughout the United States.

FMI: http://www.alpa.org, www.afanet.org