Delta, pilots reach agreement

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The National Mediation Board (NMB) announced Sunday that Delta Airlines and the Airline Pilots' Association (ALPA) had reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The contract deal must still be approved by the Delta pilots' Master Executive Council and the pilot membership.

If ratified, the contract would be amendable on May 1, 2005, five years from the May 2000 amendable date of the last contract.

"We are gratified to have a tentative agreement that benefits everyone associated with Delta Air Lines," said Delta chairman and chief executive officer Leo F. Mullin in a statement. "This agreement will make Delta pilots the best paid in the industry and will provide other significant improvements."

"Equally important, this tentative agreement gives Delta the financial and competitive framework required to be profitable and successful, especially in an uncertain economy," the statement said.

Delta and the union began labor talks in September 1999, but the most recent round of negotiations started April 18 in Washington with federal mediators. They were in the middle of a 30-day cooling-off period that was set to expire April 29.

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Delta Air Lines
Air Line Pilots Association

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