Delta Air says pilot pension plan may be ended
Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:10 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc. said on Monday it was probable its underfunded pension plan for pilots would be terminated, acknowledging the probability of a move many pilots have viewed as inevitable.

"It looks more likely than not," said Jack Gallagher, a lawyer for the airline, commenting on the possibility the pension plan would be scuttled.

If it does terminate the plan, the No. 3 airline would be following in the footsteps of rivals that have used bankruptcy protection to eliminate retirement plans that were once standard for pilots and other industry employees.

Gallagher was speaking on the first day of an arbitration hearing on the separate issue of whether Delta should be allowed to void the pilots' contract as it seeks to cut costs to emerge from bankruptcy.

A Delta spokesman said the pension plan had been weakened as the No. 3 U.S. airline paid out $2.6 billion in the last 2 years to pilots seeking early retirement.

The Atlanta-based carrier in October won bankruptcy court approval to halt payments to the pension plan.

Delta is also seeking more than $300 million in savings from its pilots, the airline's only major unionized work force, as part of $3 billion in cost reductions and revenue increases it said it must achieve to survive.

The Air Line Pilots Association said it had been told privately by the company the plan would likely be terminated.

The carrier said the plan may be scrapped even if Congress approves pension reform legislation that includes special help for struggling airlines.