Delta, Eastern Trying to Lure Democrats

Delta Air Lines and Eastern Airlines are going at it tooth and nail to be designated the official airline of the Democratic National Convention in July.

Both are offering incentives to win the designation, including free tickets for Democratic officials, fare discounts for convention delegates and entertainment space at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport.

Delta began lobbying three weeks before Atlanta was selected as the convention site.

Both airlines believe that the designation would mean free prime-time publicity and more future convention traffic.

“There’s very strong competition between those two carriers, which makes our lives difficult,” said Arleigh Greenblat, general manager of the Democratic National Convention Committee.

The proposed incentives will not be the only consideration. Party leaders want to make sure that the winner will be an appropriate symbol for the party.

Their quandary is whether to pick Atlanta-based Delta, known for good labor relations but with mostly non-union employees, or Miami-based Eastern, highly unionized but with a history of poor labor relations.

Eastern employees predict a strike before July.

“It has to be a consideration,” Greenblat said. “The ability of any carrier to sustain the services that they promised to us is a very important matter. However, we are very supportive of labor and the rights of labor, so we are not going to dwell on that.”

Harold Bevis, Delta’s public affairs director, said Delta has offered a 45% fare discount for people attending the convention. “What we are trying to negotiate now is a percentage above and beyond the best discount you can find,” Bevis said.

While Eastern would not comment on its proposal, a spokeswoman said the package is competitive.

Greenblat said both airlines are offering what amounts to one free ticket for every 45 tickets sold to conventioneers.

A similar contest is being waged for the Republican convention in New Orleans. Delta, Eastern and Continental want to be the official airline there. Continental and Eastern, both owned by Texas Air Corp., are offering a joint proposal.

“What we are really looking at is the airline that can provide the best service and can be the most cooperative with us,” said Nadeen Wong, deputy press secretary of the Republican National Convention. “We are very close to making a decision.”