Delta pilots union open to arbitration in merger

ATLANTA — The head of Delta's pilots union suggested Monday that he is open to arbitration with Northwest pilots over how to merge their seniority lists. The two sides failed to reach a pact before their airlines agreed to combine last week.

In a letter to fellow pilots Monday, Lee Moak, the chairman of the executive committee at Delta's pilots union, said union leaders are committed to the idea that seniority integration should be accomplished after negotiation of a single joint contract and, if necessary, "expedited arbitration to be completed before closing of a corporate transaction."

The two carriers tried and failed to get a pilot seniority integration deal in advance of their combination announcement.

Before Delta's April 14 announcement that it was acquiring Northwest, Moak had said he opposed binding arbitration.

The Northwest pilots union has said repeatedly that it supports arbitration, though that was before Delta's pilots cut a deal with management days before the merger announcement to give them a voting board seat, future pay raises and an equity stake in the combined airline. Delta's pilots union agreed to make changes to the pilot contract that give management more flexibility. Rank-and-file Delta pilots must ratify the agreement.

That agreement does not cover Northwest pilots.

Moak and a spokesman for Northwest's pilots union could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Seniority is important for pilots because those at the top of the list get first choice on vacations, the best routes and the bigger planes that they get paid more for flying.

Delta Air Lines Inc.'s stock-swap deal to acquire Northwest Airlines Corp., if approved by regulators and shareholders, would create the world's biggest carrier.

Investors have sent shares of both airlines down sharply since the deal was announced.