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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 23 2008, 9:41 PM EDT (current) | jimglab | 250 words added |
| Mar 23 2008, 9:40 PM EDT | jimglab |
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Delta, Northwest pilots can't agree on seniority scheme
The proposed merger between Delta and Northwest, which was reportedly waiting for just one more detail – an agreement between the two airlines’ pilots on how to merge their seniority lists – may now never happen. According to press reports, the head of Delta’s pilots union told his members that talks with their counterparts from Northwest had broken down after the two sides failed to come up with a seniority plan satisfactory to both sides. Delta had insisted that the pilot groups come to terms before it would move ahead with the merger, because it wanted to avoid the labor problems that could come afterward if there was no such agreement. Seniority is critical to pilots because it determines who gets the plum assignments, how quickly one gets promoted and so on. The failure of the pilots’ groups to agree leaves the whole merger now in question. Delta and Northwest had been counting on a merger to help them through the industry’s increasingly troubled financial straits, as the price of oil recently surpassed $100 a barrel. Separately, Delta reportedly intends to shrink its domestic capacity by 10 percent in the second half of this year, and it has offered a voluntary severance option to some 30,000 workers in the hopes of eliminating at least 2,000 administrative and management positions. The airline will focus its growth on international routes, where its capacity is projected to grow 15 percent in 2008.
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