Delta will delay decision to furlough pilots until November, union says

Delta Air Lines has agreed to delay the decision to furlough close to 2,000 pilots until Nov. 1, giving more time to negotiate cost-cutting measures with the pilots’ union and more clarity on whether carriers will get additional federal coronavirus aid. Delta had planned to furlough more than 1,900 of its roughly 13,000 pilots as early as Oct. 1, when the terms of $25b in federal payroll support that prohibits airline industry job cuts expires. Delta has largely avoided furloughs of its staff after thousands took buyouts and leaves of absence and the company reduced many workers’ schedules. “This move will provide time as we continue to lobby for a clean extension of the CARES Act and the Payroll Support Program and resume our negotiations with Delta,” the union, the Air Line Pilots Association, said Tuesday. Delta shared a proposal that could avoid furloughs with the union last week. “While we’re also watching the progress of the possible CARES Act extension, it is important that we reach an agreement now that spreads the work of approximately 12,000 active pilots across a network schedule that in Summer 2021 only requires about 9,500 pilots to fly it,” said Delta’s senior VP of flight operations, John Laughter wrote Tuesday in a memo to pilots. “The recovery won’t be over in six months, so sharing the available work is the only way to avoid furloughs altogether.” Delta and the pilots union reached a tentative agreement last week to reduce the furloughs by 220 pilots for a total of 1,721 and some of the pilots have opted for early retirement packages.<br/>