USAir Pilots Reach Agreement

Negotiators for USAir and representatives of nearly 6,200 pilots have reached a tentative contract following a marathon bargaining session.

Neither the union nor USAir spokesman John Bronson would release terms of the proposal. The proposed settlement must be approved by the Airline Pilots Assn.’s master executive council, scheduled to meet Thursday.

Chris Beebe, the council’s vice chairman, said the panel can ratify the contract, return it to negotiators for further consideration or send it to the membership for ratification.

The tentative agreement was reached Friday in Miami following 27 hours of talks.

“It’s been a very, very long drawn-out process,” Beebe said. “With this much time and effort invested, to do anything hastily would be a mistake.”

The pilots have been working under terms of a contract that was open for amendment on Aug. 31, 1989. It is the longest that USAir pilots have worked without a new pact.

The lack of a contract had hampered USAir from completing its merger with Piedmont Airlines. From August through December, former Piedmont pilots flew only aircraft from that airline and USAir pilots flew only pre-merger USAir equipment.