Thursday May 10, 7:09 pm Eastern Time
Contract Called Crucial for Comair
Comair Management Says Contract Vote Is Critical for Airline's Survival
By JOHN NOLAN
Associated Press Writer
HEBRON, Ky. (AP) -- Comair could proceed with plans to add jets and pilots if the regional carrier's pilots approve a contract proposal created by federal mediators, Delta Air Lines President Frederick W. Reid said Thursday.
If the deal is rejected in voting that began Thursday, Delta would consider offers it has received for some of its jets, Reid told reporters and about 200 Comair workers at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Results of the contract vote will be be announced Saturday.
Comair has told striking pilots the airline could go out of business if the government proposal to end the walkout is rejected.
Max Roberts, a spokesman for Comair's branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, said Thursday that the proposed contract is not as good as Comair would like everyone to think.
"One thing should obviously stick out,'' he said. "If this is such an absolute gem, why is it so hard to sell to the pilots? If it takes the president of Delta coming up here and threatening the pilots, there's something wrong.''
Comair's three-year growth plan includes buying 80 new jets and adding 900 pilots. Comair is the nation's second-largest regional airline, behind American Eagle, with 1,350 pilots.
Delta paid $1.8 billion last year to have full ownership of Comair, which served about 25,000 passengers a day.
If Comair pilots endorse the deal, they would be the best-paid pilots in the regional airline industry.
The proposed 4 1/2-year contract would offer pay raises of 13.2 percent to 29.8 percent in the first year, with raises of 25.5 percent to 56.5 percent over the life of the contract.
The pilots' union says the offer is insulting and Comair's pilots should be paid in line with pilots at Delta and other major carriers.
Delta officials say the strike is costing about $4 million a day in lost revenue. Union leaders say Comair's future is up to management.
Pilots' union leaders said the mediation board told them there would be no new talks for 30 days if the proposal were rejected.
Comair has shut down all flight operations since the strike began, eliminated 200 pilot jobs and will lay off 2,000 of its 4,000 nonstriking employees on Sunday. It has deferred orders for new jets and sold several older aircraft.
Pilots rejected a five-year deal proposed by Comair in March. Union representatives also declined to endorse that proposal.
Comair, based at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, formerly operated flights to 95 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. It has canceled flights through June 7.
Bull$%!#, I believe you guys are wrong and that Delta/Comair management is bluffing, trying to scare the pilots into accepting a very unfavorable contract. Comair claims to have been losing $4 million/day x 45 days = $180,000,000. That means they could have given their pilots $133,333 over the life of this next contract and broken even, but the tab keeps on getting bigger. Management is wasting hundreds of millions in order to deny their pilots from making major airline standard pay. These pilots have worked for substandard pay for many years and helped build this airline to major airline status, for this they get offered another substandard contract take it or we'll shutdown offer. This is pure bull$%!#, they're not going to shutdown. As far as the RJDefense and lawsuit against ALPA, the lawsuit has no merit. My analagy is that this is similar to other DAL employees suing Delta because since the pilots will get a big pay raise, they will not be able to give them a bigger slice of the pie also. Sorry Capt. Dan Ford, (Comair pilot suing ALPA and president of the RJDefense) I guess you need to understand the ramifications of deciding to become a lifer at a major (commuter) airline. Hang in there guys and call their bluff. If it turns out that I'm wrong and they weren't bluffing then this will be the kick in the pants you needed to get out and find that major airline job (you'd probably eventually be grateful that it happened.