Delta Pilots Approve Pact, Become Highest-Paid in Field

Pilots at Delta Air Lines Inc. ratified a new, five-year contract with the company Wednesday, making the pilots the highest-paid in the industry and removing the threat of a strike.

The contract was approved by 70% of Delta’s roughly 9,800 pilots, the Air Line Pilots Assn. said. A majority was required for passage. More than 97% of the pilots voted.

Observers from both sides had predicted that pilots would approve the contract despite some concerns about new scheduling rules, retirement benefits and a separate pay scale for pilots with Delta Express, the carrier’s lower-cost subsidiary based in Florida.

The contract, retroactive to May 2000, gives pilots an 11% raise in the first year and 4.5% annual hikes through 2005.

Under the new contract, a typical pilot’s monthly pay would jump more than $1,500, based on the average pilot’s salary of about $158,500 last year.

“This is an important milestone for Delta Air Lines,” Chairman and Chief Executive Leo F. Mullin said.

In a memo to Delta employees, Mullin said the company is optimistic about its long-term prospects, even as it struggles with a slump in demand by business travelers.

In other labor disputes, AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and its flight attendants returned to the bargaining table Wednesday in Washington. The flight attendants are counting down to a possible strike as early as June 30 without an agreement, but President Bush is expected to intervene to derail any strike.

On the New York Stock Exchange, Delta fell 13 cents to $42.15, while Fort Worth-based AMR edged down 1 cent to $34.39.