This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Ticket Agents at Air Canada Accept Cuts, as Others Hold Out May 27, 2003 By REUTERS MONTREAL, May 26 - Air Canada said today that it had reached a cost-cutting deal with its ticket agents, while its pilots, flight attendants and machinists have not yet agreed to pay and job reductions aimed at rescuing the airline from the brink of bankruptcy. The airline will lay off up to 827 customer service agents over the next three years, and the remaining employees will face a two-month pay cut of 10 percent, said the Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents 6,000 employees at Air Canada. "We recognize there is an immediate need for cash in this airline," Buzz Hargrove, the head of the union, said at a news conference in Toronto. Air Canada, the country's largest airline, wants to slash its annual operating costs by 2.4 billion Canadian dollars ($1.7 billion) to emerge from bankruptcy protection and to survive the slump in air travel brought on by the economic downturn, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the war in Iraq and, most recently, the SARS epidemic. Air Canada expects to save 150 million Canadian dollars in annual labor costs as part of the three-year agreement with the ticket agents. The company said that the deal, combined with agreements reached over the weekend with unions at its regional airline, Jazz, represent annual cost savings of 210 million Canadian dollars. "It's a business deal between labor and the company to save the company and to save as many jobs as possible," said Calin Rovinescu, senior vice president at Air Canada. With cost-cutting plans submitted to its pilots, flight attendants and machinists, Air Canada hopes to cut as many as 10,000 employees, or a quarter of its 40,000-member work force. A judge in Ontario gave the unions until 5 p.m. Tuesday to respond to the airline's cost-cutting proposals. "You don't have much cards to play, given the bankruptcy protection," a union representative said. "If we refuse the proposition, we are left with accepting liquidation." Air Canada reached its first deal over the weekend with the unions of Jazz, where the pilots and dispatchers agreed to cost cuts worth 60 million Canadian dollars. Air Canada pilots have been asked for concessions to allow the transfer of flights, but their union is still studying the proposal. "We're not ready to discuss it publicly," a union spokeswoman said. The pilots have been protected by contract clauses limiting the size of aircraft the lesser-paid regional airline pilots can fly. But North American airlines have been seeking to remove those clauses as they look to increase the use of smaller and more flexible regional jets. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/27/business/27AIR.html?ex=1055043876&ei=1&en=29bed2b58579db7d --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company