Delta Airline's Pilots Poised to Strike

I travel for a living. Since I live in Atlanta, almost all of my travel is booked on Delta Airlines. Since the airline has been in bankruptcy, they have made numerous attempts at cutting the pay of employees, especially the pilots, who at one time commanded the highest pay of any major airline. The company is currently attempting to void the current pilot's contract and re-work their compensation. The pilots threaten to strike as early as next week if the arbitration panel rules in favor of the company.

plez sez: WOW! If the pilots go on strike, Delta Airlines will cease to exist. There will be the loss of over 40,000 jobs and it will have a devastating affect on the economy in the Atlanta area. On a more personal note, I have hundreds of thousands of frequent flyer miles that will be useless; miles that I have been saving for a trip to Europe with my family.

On the flip side, we must consider that the pilots are being asked to take a big A pay cut. Their pay was cut by 32.5% back in 2004 and this past December, they gave up another 14%. Now the company wants to cut another 18% from their wages. I don't know about you, but the last time I looked, the price of groceries, gasoline, insurance, and mortgages hasn't gone down in the past couple of years. I'm sure Delta Airlines doesn't want the pilots to work for free!

Personally, I want them to keep flying, but I don't agree with the company continuing to diminish the quality of life of their pilots. Delta Airlines must be doing something wrong, and I don't think they're going to fix it by shafting the pilots who fly their planes.

BLOG UPDATE - April 14, 2006
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, Delta Air Lines Inc. and its pilots union reached a tentative agreement Friday on pay and benefit cuts that could avert a strike at the nation's third largest carrier and ease uncertainty among travelers over the upcoming weekend.