ALPA Chapter President Says Agreement Couldn't Be Reached
This may be the final nail in the coffin over the oft-speculated
merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines. Following
several weeks of intense negotiations, pilots at Delta say both
sides have failed to come to terms over integration of seniority
lists for a merged airline.
Such news has been reported before, with similar predictions of
doom for the proposed agreement... but this time, there's an air of
finality to statements from Lee Moak, chairman of the Delta chapter
of the Air Line Pilots Association.
In a letter to the carrier's pilots Monday, Moak wrote
negotiations over seniority were over. He said Delta presented "a
rational and fair integration method," reports The New York Times,
while noting "the other committee took a different approach."
Moak
also expressed regret over the apparent failure to come to
terms.
"We were in a position to shatter the traditional merger mold as
it related to labor integration," he wrote. "Our intent was to
accomplish what has never before been done in our industry -- reach
a three-party agreement between [the two unions and company
management] in advance of any corporate merger announcement."
Delta spokesman Kent Landers declined to comment directly on
Moak's letter to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, stating a
committee of Delta's board of directors continues to look at a
number of options for the company, including other mergers.
"Delta's special committee of the board remains active and
continues to work with the senior leadership team to review ...
potential consolidation transactions," said Landers.
As ANN reported, formal talks
between Delta and Northwest management broke off February 28, due
to a stalemate in discussions between pilots groups at both
airlines. The proposed merger plan between the two carriers called
for pilots at Delta and Northwest to come to at least a preliminary
agreement on how seniority lists at both airlines would be
integrated, before a transaction took place. Management hoped such
a plan would avoid further problems down the line... a la
the labor strife still felt almost three years after US Airways and
America West merged.
A Delta/Northwest merger posed a similar problem for pilots on
both sides as the US Airways merger did -- Delta was positioned to
be the dominant carrier in the deal, but Northwest has a larger
number of pilots high on the seniority list.
Earlier this month, reports surfaced pilots on both sides had
reopened discussions... but it was later revealed those talks were
informal in nature, and did not include senior personnel with both
Delta and Northwest ALPA chapters.
Northwest pilots spokesman Greg Rizzuto told the Associated
Press his union "still values any deal to help better the careers
of all pilots involved in any type of future merger or acquisition
with any pilot group, and due to the rising cost of oil it is
imperative that a fair integration of seniority lists be found
between any group."
Northwest and Delta management declined comment on the
matter.
While conceding it was probably a "smart thing" for Delta to try
to iron out any disagreements between pilots ahead of a merger,
Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl says that strategy was still
flawed.
"I think it proves the fact that pilots can't agree on anything
and shouldn't be dictating the future of mergers," said Neidl.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.13.24)
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