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Delta Air Lines Pilots To Picket For Higher Paychecks

June 8th, 2016

**FILE** Delta Air Lines jets line up on the tarmac at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Ga., in this Nov. 22, 2006 file photo. Delta will launch non-stop service between Atlanta to London’s Heathrow Airport once the open skies agreement, inked last May to end rules under which U.S. and European governments had to … Continued

Ric Feld / Associated Press

Some Delta Air Lines pilots will be grounded on Friday.

They plan to protest in New York City where the Atlanta-based carrier holds its yearly stockholder meeting.

The Air Line Pilots Association at Delta said the pilots deserve higher pay, especially after accepting concessions after Delta went bankrupt in 2005.

“These pilots see record profits at Delta, billions of dollars a year quite literally and think that as the people who fly the planes, in charge of the passengers’ safety that they deserve a bigger piece of the pie,” said Seth Kaplan, managing editor at Airline Weekly.

Kaplan said the pilots rejected a contract offer from Delta last year.

In March, contract talks went into federal mediation. Delta issued a statement stating it believes a tentative contract agreement could be reached before the end of summer.