Delta Friday said it will take a half-a-billion-dollar hit in Q4 from a new contract that pilots approved on Thursday, which hikes pay retroactively to the beginning of 2016. Delta said it will pay US$475m in higher wages and profit-sharing for pilots, including US$380m related to the first three quarters of the year. That is expected to push down its operating profit margin about five points to between 9.5 and 10.5%. The pilot agreement raises wages 30% by 2019, just one example of the wage crunch that top airlines are facing. Excluding the impact of the new pilot deal, Delta said its margin would be at the high end of prior guidance. It said average fares were stabilizing for US flights booked at the last minute, after having fallen for months.<br/>
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Dutch airline KLM says one of its pilots suffered a heart attack while taxiing to the runway at Glasgow Airport in Scotland for a flight to Amsterdam. The airline says in a statement that the crew of the aircraft and a passenger resuscitated the captain. He was taken to a hospital. The co-pilot brought the plane back to the gate, where ambulance crews met the plane Friday evening. The flight was canceled and passengers were rebooked.<br/>