Loses Three Planes For Each Month Pilots Don't Have New Contract

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. said Monday that they missed a March 31 new contract deadline with its pilots. However, in a statement, Pinnacle said that it plans to continue negotiations with its pilots.

The company further detailed it could lose up to 17 aircraft it received from Northwest Airlines Corp. due to a deal the carrier reached in December 2006. This deal stipulated Pinnacle was to have reached an agreement with its pilots by March 31, 2007.

Phil Reed, Pinnacle's vice president of marketing, acknowledged Monday that by missing Northwest's labor-deal deadline, Northwest "has the right to take back three aircraft per month."

"Although I am extremely disappointed we have not reached an agreement, tremendous progress has been made and I appreciate the hard work of the pilots' negotiating committee to move these discussions forward," said Pinnacle CEO Philip H. Trenary. "Reaching an agreement is important to all."

In December, Northwest reached a long-term services agreement for Memphis-based Pinnacle to operate 124 Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs), which seat 50 passengers. The agreement further stated that Pinnacle could fly 17 additional 50-seaters for Northwest, but the big airline would have the option of removing those airplanes if Pinnacle didn't negotiate a new agreement with its pilots union by March 31.

Northwest may have a perfect home for the removed aircraft. The airline is expected to close its purchase of Mesaba in the coming weeks, and the Minnesota-based regional carrier already has federal certification to fly the 50-seat jets now operated by Pinnacle.

Pinnacle employs about 1,200 pilots. Recently, Reed said, Pinnacle has had to cancel some flights for lack of flight crews because so many Pinnacle pilots have left the carrier to accept jobs elsewhere. "Pilots are not getting cheaper in the regional industry," said Gordon, who added that 30 to 40 Pinnacle pilots per month have left for other carriers.

Currently, there are 16 pilots on Mesaba's payroll tasked with flying one 50-seat CRJ for Northwest. Two years ago, Mesaba geared up to operate 15 of the CRJs, but Northwest halted delivery of those planes after Northwest filed for bankruptcy. In 2005, Mesaba President John Spanjers estimated his carrier's workforce would grow by 300 people to accommodate the new flying.

Now, Mesaba is getting ready to take delivery of three dozen CRJs that seat 76 passengers. Mesaba will be Northwest's sole operator of the 76-seat aircraft.

The cockpits for the 50-seat and 76-seat CRJs are similar, and the pilots who fly them get the same license from the Federal Aviation Administration. So it would not be difficult for Mesaba to shift pilots from one CRJ model to another.

"Mesaba, like any other regional airline with certification for CRJs, is competition," said Pinnacle's Reed.

FMI: www.nwairlink.com