Delta Pilots Union May Resume Talks

Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots union decided to seek a resumption of contract negotiations with the company using “updated objectives,” the same day Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein reiterated the need for cost cuts.

The union’s top council passed a resolution during a special meeting in Los Angeles after getting a financial update from economic experts and investment bankers. The company made its latest proposal in January, and no substantive talks have taken place this year.

Atlanta-based Delta, which has posted $3.6 billion in losses since 2000, is asking pilots to take a pay cut and has said a bankruptcy filing is possible unless it can stem losses.

From Bloomberg News

* UAL Corp.’s United Airlines lost its bid for $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees, a blow to the second-largest U.S. airline as it tries to emerge from bankruptcy protection. It was the second time the Air Transportation Stabilization Board has turned down the company.