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Delta may sue pilots
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December 4, 2000: 1:08 p.m. ET
No. 3 airline says pilots are illegally refusing to fly due to contract talks
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Delta Air Lines said Monday it is considering legal action against its pilots who are refusing to fly on overtime, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
The airline said that pilots are refusing to fly extra flights due to contract negotiations now under way between the airline and the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents more than 9,000 crew members at the nation's third-largest airline. About 300 flights were cancelled over the weekend due to crew shortages, compared with a normal two flights a day cancelled for that reason. About 4 to 5 percent of Delta's 2,700 flights a day are handled by pilots flying on overtime.
While the airline did not release any figures for the number of flights affected Monday, it appears more cancellations are in the offing.
"Looking ahead, the prospects are not good for our operation or our customers, particularly over the holidays," said Dave Bushy, Delta's senior vice president of flight operations, in a recorded message on the Delta pilots' hotline. "At this point we must focus on how to protect or passengers through the holidays and beyond."
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"Looking ahead, the prospects are not good for our operation or our customers, particularly over the holidays."
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Dave Bushy
senior vice president of flight operations
Delta Air Lines |
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Two other major airlines, No. 1 United Airlines (UAL: Research, Estimates) and No. 4 Northwest Airlines (NWAC: Research, Estimates), recently have won court orders against the unions representing their mechanics due to what they said were illegal job actions leading to the grounding of aircraft due to contract talks there.
Alesia Watson a spokeswoman for Delta (DAL: Research, Estimates), said that talks, for which a federal mediator was named last week, have been progressing well. The two sides joined to request 90 days of mediation. If they do not reach an agreement at that time, the two sides have agreed to ask for a 30-day cooling off period, which could open the door for a possible strike April 1.
But Watson said that while progress is being made at the table and the airline is not charging union leadership with leading the job action by pilots, the union would be the subject of any legal action.
"Make no mistake, there are some pilots now engaging in a job action," she said. "We are prepared to take legal action to protect the interest of the passengers. We have no issue with the (union) leadership. But the pilots are represented by ALPA."
 A spokeswoman for ALPA acknowledged that some pilots were being pressured by colleagues not to fly on overtime, and she said the union opposes any such concerted effort.
"We want our pilots to focus on contract negotiations. We want them to prepare emotionally, financially, for a potential strike on April 1," said Karen Miller, a spokeswoman for the union.
She said that while the union opposes any concerted action by pilots not to fly on overtime, the current contract gives pilots the right to refuse such flights and that the union would fight any legal action by the airline.
One airline analyst said that the latest action by pilots could hurt Delta's fourth quarter earnings.
"Given that the first half of December is a relatively quiet time for travel, Delta has been able to re-accommodate most of the passengers on other Delta flights," said Michael Linenberg, airline analyst with Merrill Lynch.
"As a consequence of the cancellations and the possibility that the situation worsens, our December-quarter earnings per share forecast of 95 cents could be at risk," he added. "However, we recently lowered our estimate from $1.20, primarily due to concerns about higher fuel prices, although potential pilot actions were also a consideration, and we are now the lowest on the street."
He retained his buy rating on the company's stock.
Shares of Delta lost $1.38 to $46.88 at midday Monday. 
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