Does Delta have a representative involved in the talks between subsidiary Comair and its striking pilots?
No. Comair is at the table, Comair is handling the negotiations. Obviously, we have had a policy discussion concerning this, but it is Comair making the final negotiating decisions on that. Q: Why not just give the pilots what they want and stop losing money? A: We are all prepared to clear it up. We have a terrific offer on the table that would increase compensation by 25 percent or so. And the pilots have a proposal that in terms of total compensation would increase it 80 percent. There is just no way to continue to run an operation with those kinds of compensation increases. Q: Has there been any more thought to how Delta is going to pay for its new contract with its pilots? A: Obviously, we’ve got to streamline costs – one area in particular is distribution costs, which can be helped by the Internet. Also, we’re getting 100 new planes over the next 100 weeks. Those tend to be two-pilot aircraft, and we tend to be retiring B-727s and L-1011s, both of which are three-pilot aircraft.
