Delta may offer retirement deal to cut pilot staffing
By Kelly Yamanouchi
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, May 08, 2009
Delta Air Lines has proposed to cut pilot staffing by offering incentives for pilot retirements, according to a Delta pilots union memo.

Delta management proposed the retirement incentive program to the Air Line Pilots Association at Delta to address “what management perceives to be a pilot staffing overage,” according to the Friday memo. The union discussed the proposal at a meeting in New Orleans on Thursday.

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Under the terms of the proposal, pilots who are eligible would get a severance payment, retiree travel benefits and medical and dental benefits for a limited period of time. Eligibility would depend on age and length of service.

The union plans to negotiate with the company on the proposal and should they reach an agreement, it would still be subject to approval by the union’s leadership. Eligible pilots would then have the option of taking the retirement offer.

Delta pilots were not eligible to participate in company’s buyouts this year and last year, which Delta used to cut about 6,500 employees throughout other parts of the company. Those buyouts included voluntary severance and early retirement programs.

Delta has about 12,000 pilots, including those from merger partner Northwest. Delta closed its deal to acquire Northwest last October.

 

So we are overstaffed.

 

they've already said we would be overstaffed this fall and possibly short next summer. Maybe they figure that they're going to have some serious training events coming up anyway and they would be better off training new guys next year and want to get rid of some top of the list guys. I have mat alot of people that are waiting for this. If they have a decent package they may just get a bunch of guys to take it. We're still having guys retire now without a PERP so this should help tip those on the fence. We'll See

 

What would you consider a "decent" package?

 

dont know, i'm not a senior guy on the verge of retirement. Ask me again in 32-36 years

 

Each DAL pilot donating $1 a month to me for the rest of my days.

Nu

 

Has their been any word on the number of pilots they are looking to reduce staffing by?
(i.e. How many pilots is management looking for to take the early out?)


As far as furloughing the other side of the list goes, the only thing I've heard is that management would not furlough pilots if they anticipated on recalling them within two years. Just a rumor I've heard don't now how accurate it is, but it would make sense as far as RQ goes.

 

They are targeting 300-500 pilots.

 

Don't know what would be decent, but here's what would work:

1. Retiree travel benefits
2. Former NWA pilots do not take the 3% per year penalty for their retirements.

Most of my over 55 buds at NWA tell me they would jump in a nanosecond if they weren't taking such a big pension hit for leaving early.

Carl

 

Carl, it's not a 3% "penalty". That may be how the math is calculated (I don't really know how your plan works), but its really just a stretching out of the payments.

For example, pilot "A" retires at 60 and gets $100,000 per year for 25 years (on average).

Pilot "B" retires at 55 and gets $85,000 but he gets it for 30 years.

Same pot of money, just being drawn over a longer period. That seems fair to me.

PG