Delta Air Lines Pilots To Picket Over Contract Negotiations
An audio version of this story.
This story was updated at 4:03 p.m.
Some pilots for Delta Air Lines will be grounded Thursday morning.
The pilots are holding an informational picket and want Delta management to end contract negotiations now.
The talks have been going for nearly 20 months.
Profit-sharing is one of the major sticking points between both sides.
“Back in the bad old days when the airline couldn’t promise a whole lot of money, it said ‘Look, we’ll pay you this and then we’ll share a significant portion of any future profits.’ That turned out to be a whole lot of money, because of course, Delta is making a whole lot of money right now,” said airline analyst Seth Kaplan.
Kaplan said the picket shouldn’t disrupt any scheduled flights.
“Delta at this point is back to being the very reliable airline that it had become in recent years, aside from that very major exception last month with all the cancelations and yeah, there’s no reason to think that this picket is going to cause any operational issues,” said Kaplan.
In a written statement, a Delta spokesman said, “Delta has made a comprehensive proposal for an agreement that contains an industry-leading package of pay, benefits and work rules. We recognize the many contributions Delta pilots have made to the airline’s success and are hopeful that a conclusion to negotiations can be reached soon.”