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Delta’s CEO: Airline will not survive strike
Delta Air Lines needs a cost-saving pilots’ agreement soon and “will not survive a 24-hour pilot strike,” according to CEO Gerald Grinstein.
“They have to reach that agreement. We have got to get that done by late spring,” he told ATWOnline.
The airline wants pay and benefit reductions of $315 million a year. The Air Line Pilots Association has offered $115 million. The pilots gave $1 billion back in 2004.
Delta management is trying to have the current pilot contract thrown out.
Both sides have agreed to arbitrate the company’s proposed motion before a bankruptcy judge, but pilots have threatened to strike if the court sides with management.
An arbitrator’s decision is expected next month.
If Delta and the pilots reach an agreement, Mr Grinstein says the company could emerge from bankruptcy by the summer of next year.
Delta has strengthened its position with 50 daily Atlantic flights, which should raise international revenues from 20 to 35%.
An economic analyst for the Air Line Pilots Association said Delta has cut costs to the point where it has lower operating expenses than its rivals.
Delta’s unit costs excluding fuel were set at 7 cents, which is one cent lower than most of the big carriers.
In a related development, Delta told employees it expects to cut 1,000 management jobs this spring. The airline has completed half of the7,000 to 9,000 job cuts it announced last fall.
Report by David Wilkening
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