Retired pilots fighting Delta

Delta Air Lines Inc., the largest U.S. carrier in bankruptcy, shouldn't be allowed to terminate its pilots' pension plan, a group of retired pilots said.

Lawyers for the 673 retirees on Tuesday asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin Jr. in New York to stop the airline from moving to end the pension plan. A group that represents most of Delta's 5,600 retired pilots agreed last month not to fight the airline's plan.

Delta announced an agreement Monday with the quasi-federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. that would allow the Atlanta-based airline to end the pilots' retirement plan. The accord is awaiting Hardin's approval. The objecting pilots say they were denied the opportunity to oppose Delta's plan.

"They were lulled into inactivity by reliance on representations by the debtors (apparently false and misleading) that, if the Pilots Plan was terminated their qualified retirement benefits would be diminished by only 10 to 15 percent," lawyers for the pilots said in Tuesday's filing.

Delta spokeswoman Kelly Collins didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

The Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, representing about 6,000 active pilots, agreed not to contest the pension termination in exchange for a $2.1 billion claim against the company.

The largest group of retired pilots, called DP3, settled with Delta on Nov. 27 in exchange for a total of $801 million in claims to make up for lost pension benefits. The actual value of the claims won't be set until Delta emerges from bankruptcy.

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Contributing: Eric Torbenson