Restructuring Agreement Ratified

With more than 86 percent of eligible Pinnacle pilots casting ballots, 85 percent voted in favor of ratifying the Restructuring Letter of Agreement.

In this vote you were asked to decide to do what was best for our pilot group as a whole, taking into account the dire circumstances in which we found ourselves.

choose to vote in favor of the TA means a significant cost to each of you, both in terms of quality of life and pay. Some of our pilots will see wage cuts alone that equal nearly 25%, and that is without taking into account displacements due to loss of equipment. This vote was the final piece of the company’s restructuring plan. Having moved past this vote, the work begins to improve our carrier, our operation, as well as our contract.

Management failures were responsible for Pinnacle’s current financial crisis, but it was only this sacrifice by you, the professional pilots of Pinnacle airlines, that could preserve a future for the airline and its employees. In that future, we will seek out new employment opportunities for those pilots who no longer see a viable career path at Pinnacle while we protect and shore up the restructured contract for those who remain.

The pilot-ratified contract will now be submitted to the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for final approval tomorrow.