US Airways, pilots reach tentative deal on pay cuts ARLINGTON, Va. (Reuters) =97 US Airways Group and its pilots union said=20 Wednesday they reached a tentative agreement on $100 million in annual cost= =20 savings, half the new cost cuts the bankrupt airline needs to avoid the=20 threat of liquidation. (Related:US Airways wants its unions to give up=20 more) The tentative agreement with pilots, which also allows for some=20 relief for US Airways from its underfunded pension obligations, came during= =20 talks between the airline and most of its major unions over another round=20 of cost-cutting. The airline has already secured $1.3 billion in annual=20 savings, but it approached the unions for more concessions after it began=20 falling short of revenue targets in September. The Retirement Systems of=20 Alabama, US Airways' primary bankruptcy financing partner, stepped up the=20 pressure on workers last week. Its chief executive, David Bronner, made it= =20 clear he could refuse to finance the airline if it didn't secure $200=20 million more in labor-related cost cuts to help it meet requirements of its= =20 financing. The loss of that money, which is keeping US Airways' planes in=20 the air, could ruin the airline's ability to emerge from bankruptcy. But if the leadership of the Air Line Pilots Association ratifies the=20 package, it could help the airline maintain its planned course of action in= =20 the bankruptcy courts. US Airways has said it expects to emerge from=20 bankruptcy in March, if it can win final approval of an application for=20 $900 million in government backing on its loans. The airline's request was= =20 conditionally approved before it filed for bankruptcy in August, and the=20 government restated that conditional approval after the filing. "We=20 continue to work to secure final approval of our loan guarantee from the=20 Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) and file our plan of=20 reorganization by Dec. 20," said US Airways CEO David Siegel. The pilots'=20 package covers changes in productivity and work rules, temporary wage cuts,= =20 and savings on benefits and pension plans. The group of about 6,000 pilots= =20 has already ratified $465 million in annual wage cuts and other=20 concessions. The tentative pilot agreement, the first announced by any of=20 the airline's labor groups, could help clear a path for cuts by machinists,= =20 communications workers and flight attendants. US Airways is already in talks with the International Association of=20 Machinists and the Communications Workers of America. Its flight attendants= =20 union has refused to start negotiations until other labor groups reach=20 agreements and the airline's management shoulders more cuts. US Airways'=20 management made no such offer Wednesday, but it said that in exchange for=20 the pilots' wage cuts and productivity improvements, it will raise the=20 minimum number of aircraft in its mainline fleet, offering more job=20 protection. The airline will set the minimum at 279, the number of aircraft= =20 it currently has in its fleet, instead of 245. It will also make=20 MidAtlantic Airways, its new regional jet subsidiary, a division of US=20 Airways, a move that should help secure more jobs for pilots who have been= =20 furloughed. The union said 392 pilots were scheduled to be furloughed on=20 Jan. 7, and another 79 would be furloughed through April. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************