04-13-2012A federal bankruptcy judge in New York has ordered an eight day cooling-off period between Comair and its pilots' union.
The judge was expected to issue a ruling as to whether or not the pilots could strike on Friday, but his newest ruling negates the previous timetable.
Comair was already granted permission to void its current deal with the pilots' union because of the ongoing bankruptcy with parent-company Delta Air Lines.
Thursday's order means management will not impose new wage and working conditions on the pilots.
Members of the Air Line Pilots Association staffed their strike preparedness center in Erlanger as members called in from across the country to keep up-to-date on the news.
The judge's order means there will be no strike- at least for now.
All along, Comair pilots have said they don't want to strike, but would if it became necessary.
The new deadline is 11:59 p.m. on February 9--a week from Friday.
Negotiations will likely continue until that time.
Meanwhile, pilots have planned informational picketing at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport on Friday afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m. Kate Marx, a representative for Comair, says that the company will comply with the judge's request.
Another week of ground school........yeah!!!!
AIRLINEPILOT CENTRAL
As long as there is a great supply of Qualified Pilots (600 tt 100 ME). The unions are powerless untill there will be a shortage of pilots. From what I can see people with very strong financial backing are entering the aviation world with hopes of a short stop at a regional airline."no night freight to build multi engine time etc to get to a commuter" They will be off to greener pastures flying heavy meatal. Comair union is one of the pilot groups who has set a precedent pre 911 on wages and salary. The courts will never allow this union to strike as previous learned from the outcomes from Northwest ETC. I wish this pilot group the best of luck to protect their livelyhood ,however i just don't think it is in the making.