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Comair union amenable to taking Delta pilots [font=arial,helvetica][/font]
By James Pilcher
Enquirer staff writer
Comair's pilot union would be more than happy to take on any laid-off Delta Air Lines pilot, especially if it means the possibility of new large jets for the Erlanger-based regional carrier, the union's chairman said Wednesday.
The reaction comes as Delta's pilots vote on a tentative agreement that would allow the company to operate up to 150 70-seat regional jets at affiliates and subsidiaries such as Comair, up from the previous limit of 57.
That changed a previous strategy of the Delta pilots of trying to limit regional jet flying, which they saw as a threat to their jobs. However, there are still many more steps to clear before any new planes are flying, including fixing Delta's financial mess.
In return, those regional airlines must give preferential hiring to the 774 Delta pilots who have remained laid off following the 9/11 attacks.
A total of 1,060 pilots were cut, but some have been recalled under the order of a federal judge. The new deal with Delta would erase that recall schedule and only promise that the pilots would be back to work by 2008.
The tentative agreement between Delta and its pilots says that pilots at those Delta regional carriers who go along with the idea will be given preferential treatment when applying for a job with Delta's mainline, whenever that airline starts hiring again.
The pilot unions at Delta subsidiaries or affiliates would have to approve such an arrangement, however, both regarding their pilots and Delta's pilots.
"We actually sent the company a resolution (agreeing to allow Delta pilots to be hired first) this summer," said J.C. Lawson III, chairman of Comair's 1,900-member pilot union. "To be honest, with the way things are going, if they want to fly, they'll probably end up here anyway."
Delta's nearly 8,000-member branch of the Air Line Pilots Association is currently voting by phone or on the company's Web site on a new contract that would mean about $1 billion less in pay, benefits and work rules annually for pilots. The ratification vote ends Nov. 11. The Atlanta-based airline has warned bankruptcy is the only option without the cuts.
More than 800 Delta pilots are based locally. Of those who were laid off, 74 were based in Cincinnati, including 14 living in the area.
Comair and Delta officials also would not comment on the tentative agreement. But Delta has made it clear in recent years that members of its regional network, including Comair, would only get new jets if they have the lowest costs.
And a refusal in December by the Comair pilots and flight attendants - the highest-paid in the regional industry - to take a pay cut led to Delta's announcement in March that the Erlanger-based Comair would get no new planes next year.
Lawson said he expects the company will ask for cuts again.
"We know that could be coming, but I can't comment beyond that," Lawson said.
Delta's pilot union has long tried to limit the amount of regional jet flying, especially by larger planes, seeing it as a threat since routes could be reassigned to the smaller planes and to airlines that pay their pilots less.
A first-year pilot at Comair earns about $22,000 a year. A first-year Delta pilot now makes about $50,400 annually before the new contract, which would cut that figure to about $34,000.
A senior 70-seat captain makes a little more than $104,000 annually at Comair, while a senior Boeing 777 captain at Delta now makes nearly $288,000 a year and would get about $194,000 annually with the new contract.
E-mail [email protected]
By James Pilcher
Enquirer staff writer
Comair's pilot union would be more than happy to take on any laid-off Delta Air Lines pilot, especially if it means the possibility of new large jets for the Erlanger-based regional carrier, the union's chairman said Wednesday.
The reaction comes as Delta's pilots vote on a tentative agreement that would allow the company to operate up to 150 70-seat regional jets at affiliates and subsidiaries such as Comair, up from the previous limit of 57.
That changed a previous strategy of the Delta pilots of trying to limit regional jet flying, which they saw as a threat to their jobs. However, there are still many more steps to clear before any new planes are flying, including fixing Delta's financial mess.
In return, those regional airlines must give preferential hiring to the 774 Delta pilots who have remained laid off following the 9/11 attacks.
A total of 1,060 pilots were cut, but some have been recalled under the order of a federal judge. The new deal with Delta would erase that recall schedule and only promise that the pilots would be back to work by 2008.
The tentative agreement between Delta and its pilots says that pilots at those Delta regional carriers who go along with the idea will be given preferential treatment when applying for a job with Delta's mainline, whenever that airline starts hiring again.
The pilot unions at Delta subsidiaries or affiliates would have to approve such an arrangement, however, both regarding their pilots and Delta's pilots.
"We actually sent the company a resolution (agreeing to allow Delta pilots to be hired first) this summer," said J.C. Lawson III, chairman of Comair's 1,900-member pilot union. "To be honest, with the way things are going, if they want to fly, they'll probably end up here anyway."
Delta's nearly 8,000-member branch of the Air Line Pilots Association is currently voting by phone or on the company's Web site on a new contract that would mean about $1 billion less in pay, benefits and work rules annually for pilots. The ratification vote ends Nov. 11. The Atlanta-based airline has warned bankruptcy is the only option without the cuts.
More than 800 Delta pilots are based locally. Of those who were laid off, 74 were based in Cincinnati, including 14 living in the area.
Comair and Delta officials also would not comment on the tentative agreement. But Delta has made it clear in recent years that members of its regional network, including Comair, would only get new jets if they have the lowest costs.
And a refusal in December by the Comair pilots and flight attendants - the highest-paid in the regional industry - to take a pay cut led to Delta's announcement in March that the Erlanger-based Comair would get no new planes next year.
Lawson said he expects the company will ask for cuts again.
"We know that could be coming, but I can't comment beyond that," Lawson said.
Delta's pilot union has long tried to limit the amount of regional jet flying, especially by larger planes, seeing it as a threat since routes could be reassigned to the smaller planes and to airlines that pay their pilots less.
A first-year pilot at Comair earns about $22,000 a year. A first-year Delta pilot now makes about $50,400 annually before the new contract, which would cut that figure to about $34,000.
A senior 70-seat captain makes a little more than $104,000 annually at Comair, while a senior Boeing 777 captain at Delta now makes nearly $288,000 a year and would get about $194,000 annually with the new contract.
E-mail [email protected]
