The pilots' union of bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc on Wednesday ratified an interim agreement with the carrier, paving the way for negotiations to continue toward a final deal in March, the airline said.
The interim deal, reached earlier this month between the No 3 US airline and the Air Line Pilots Association, provides for a 14 percent hourly wage reduction as well as cuts in other pay and cost items equivalent to another 1 percent, Delta said in a statement.
Atlanta-based Delta, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, has been seeking $3 billion in revenue increases and cost savings, including about $325 million in givebacks from its pilots.
The union said in a statement that more than half the pilots voted to ratify the deal but as many as 42 percent voted against it. About 86 percent of its approximately 6,500 members voted, it said.
The vote "reflected the pilot group's anger over the concession request," it said. "Concerns were also expressed over management's failure to outline a plan that demonstrated how further sacrifices would insure Delta's financial future."
Gerald Grinstein, Delta's chief executive, said in a statement, "We greatly appreciate the additional sacrifices Delta employees - including our pilots - are making to help save the company."
The concessions, effective from December 15, will save the airline about $143 million a year until a comprehensive deal is reached, it said. The two sides are scheduled to negotiate a comprehensive agreement by March 1, with pilot membership ratification due by March 22.
The interim deal also provides for setting up a third-party panel to facilitate a resolution should the pilots and the airline fail to reach a deal by the deadline.