Airline says it must drop pension plan to avoid liquidation ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) =97 US Airways told a bankruptcy judge Friday that the= =20 company faces almost imminent liquidation if it is not permitted to=20 terminate the pension plan for its 6,000 pilots. The bankrupt airline faces= =20 a $1.6 billion gap over the next seven years between its pension assets and= =20 its liabilities, the company said Friday. Resolution of the issue is the=20 last major hurdle it faces to meet its goal of emerging from bankruptcy by= =20 the end of March. But the pilots, who have suffered 1,800 furloughs and=20 have already agreed to $565 million in annual wage concessions to try to=20 keep the company afloat, say termination of their pension is too much to=20 bear. Nearly 100 pilots attended Friday's hearing to show their=20 displeasure. "We have already sacrificed a lot," said Bob Lamborn of=20 Kennett Square, Pa., a US Airways pilot for 17 years. "To have them come=20 after our pension now, it's a personal affront." US Airways has its largest= =20 hub in Charlotte, N.C., where it employs more than 7,000. If US Airways=20 gets what it wants, the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. will take=20 over the plan. In that case, most pilots would receive a pension no greater= =20 than $28,500 a year. That would be supplemented with a new, replacement pension plan implemented= =20 by the airline. But the new pension plan would provide defined=20 contributions instead of defined benefits. That means an older pilot would= =20 have little time to accumulate savings, while younger pilots would have to= =20 a hope for a strong stock market to build a significant nest egg. If the=20 old plan were to remain intact, most pilots would receive an annual pension= =20 of $50,000 to $70,000. Some are in line to receive $100,000 or more. Pilot= =20 Dave Ciabattoni of Wallingford, Pa., estimated that his overall pension=20 will at best be cut in half under US Airways' proposal. He said he did not= =20 believe the company's assertion that resolving the pension issue is the=20 airline's final hurdle to financial stability. "If the difference between solvency and liquidation is this issue, then the= =20 company is going to liquidate," he said. "The pilots alone can't save this= =20 company." Many pilots said they also resent the fact that none of the other= =20 unions are being asked to sacrifice their pensions. The airline says the=20 pilots' plan is the only one big enough to provide the savings it needs. US Airways lawyer John W. Butler Jr. said he sympathizes with the pilots,=20 but terminating the plan is necessary to the airline's survival . "These pilot benefits will never be paid at those (original) levels. They=20 are gone and nobody will get them," Butler said. "If we do not resolve this= =20 issue on a timely basis, there will be no airline." The Retirement Systems= =20 of Alabama, a pension fund for public employees in that state, is the=20 airline's main financial sponsor and is in line to take a controlling stake= =20 in the airline upon its emergence from bankruptcy. The pension fund is=20 withholding $200 million in financing until the pension issue is resolved,= =20 and Butler said the airline recently missed debt payments as a result. The= =20 airline won a small victory Friday when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen=20 Mitchell agreed to hear testimony on the issue. Lawyers for several groups= =20 of retired pilots had contended that the judge did not have authority to=20 rule on the issue and that it should be submitted to arbitration. Testimony= =20 is expected to continue next week, with witnesses including US Airways=20 chief executive David Siegel. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.dbombo.net/muddyangels/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************