Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e. of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (the PWA currently in effect) reads as follows:
40. “Permitted aircraft type” means: . . .
d. one of up to 120 jet aircraft configured with 71-76 passenger seats and certificated in the United States with a maximum gross takeoff weight of 86,000 pounds or less (“76-seat jets”). The number of 76-seat jets may be increased above 120 by three 76-seat jets for each aircraft above the number of aircraft in the baseline fleet operated by the Company (in service, undergoing maintenance and operational spares) as of CBAID. The baseline fleet number will be 440+N, in which N is the number of aircraft (in service, undergoing maintenance and operational spares but not including permitted aircraft types) added to the Company’s baseline fleet from NWA. The number and type of all aircraft in the Company’s fleet on CBAID will be provided to the Association. The number of 70-seat jets plus 76-seat jets permitted by Section 1 B. 40. may not exceed 255.
Exception: Up to the 36 EMB-175s that were operated and/or ordered by Northwest prior to CBAID may continue to be operated with up to a maximum gross takeoff weight of 89,000 pounds.
e. once the number of permitted 76-seat jets is established, it will not be reduced.
Exception one: If a pilot on the seniority list with an employment date prior to September 1, 2001 is placed on furlough, the Company will convert all 76-seat jets for operation as 70-seat jets.
Exception two: In the event the flow provisions of NWA LOA 2006-10 and LOA 2006-14 cease to be available, either at the feeder carrier affiliate referenced in such LOAs or at another carrier, the number of jet aircraft configured with 71-76 passenger seats specified in Section 1 B. 40. d. will revert to 85.
Management believes that
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e. establish the maximum number of 76-seat jets based on the number of aircraft in the mainline fleet at
any date prior to the date a 76-seat jet enters service (and after Letter of Agreement 51 took effect). Essentially, this interpretation would allow the Company to operate a number of 76 seat jets based on the number of mainline jets
at the highest point since LOA 51 took effect. The Association’s position is that
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e. establish the maximum number of 76-seat jets based on the number of aircraft in the mainline fleet
on the actual date a 76-seat jet enters service and that the maximum number of such 76-seat jets is
not determined by the number of aircraft in the mainline fleet at any previous time nor does it include future deliveries in the mainline fleet number.
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Management’s interpretation of
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e. would authorize the Company to currently operate up to 156 76-seat jets. The Association’s interpretation of
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e. would authorize the Company to currently operate 127 76-seat jets (see Figure 1).
Typically, barring a negotiated settlement, grievances are eventually decided by binding arbitration before a neutral third party, often at a point well into the future. While the Association feels confident that our interpretation of
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e. is correct, there always remain several elements of risk whenever an issue is decided through arbitration.
After a number of face-to-face meetings and careful consideration, the parties reached a Settlement Agreement which mitigates the litigation risks but more importantly confirms the Association’s interpretation of the PWA and provides real and meaningful additional furlough protection for hundreds of the most vulnerable pilots on our seniority list, very similar to protections already available to more senior pilots.
The Settlement Agreement provides that:
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The Company will agree to the Association’s interpretation of
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e. but provides a one-time exception to this interpretation allowing the Company to operate up to 153* 76-seat jets so long as the Company does not furlough
any pilot on the integrated system seniority list as of February 9, 2009, the date the agreement was signed. With agreement on the interpretation of
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e, any further increase above 153 76-seat jets will require substantial mainline fleet growth. For example, for the Company to add a 154th 76-seat jet, the mainline would have to be comprised of 768 mainline jets. Today the mainline fleet consists of 753 aircraft.
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If the Company does furlough any pilot on the Integrated System Seniority List, then the Company will physically remove six passenger seats from the number of 76-seat jets (in service, undergoing maintenance and operational spares) that exceeds the authorized number of 76-seat jets under the Association’s interpretation of
Section 1 B. 40. d. and
e.
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While the Company will have 90 days from the first furlough to physically remove the seats, such seats will become immediately unusable for
any purpose upon the furlough of the very first pilot on the list.
It’s important to understand that the agreement is a settlement over an issue of scope language
interpretation and
not an issue of “scope relief.” Scope language is intended to protect pilot jobs. This agreement enhances job protections for Delta pilots. There has been no change to the scope language in our contract, and this settlement will
not increase the number of regional jet hulls; it simply codifies the number of seats that will be allowed in up to 26 of those aircraft. It allows up to a total of 156 seats throughout the system (26 aircraft x 6 seats per airplane = 156) in exchange for furlough protections for hundreds of Delta pilots and their families and definitive agreement on the contractual language moving forward. Further, this agreement does not increase the ceiling on the total number of 70-seat/76-seat jets permitted by Section 1 B. 40. That number remains at 255, and with 153 76-seat jets, the total of 70/76-seat jets will be 224 while the overall number of all regional jets has decreased substantially over the past year.
Though the Company’s position provides for a total of 156 76-seat aircraft, the agreement limits the number to 153 aircraft.
