This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ NOMINATED FOR 7 BROADCAST FILM CRITICS AWARDS IN AMERICA has been nominated for 7 BFCA Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress Best Director, Best Writer, Best Young Actor/Actress, and Best Song. Ebert & Roeper give IN AMERICA "Two Thumbs Way Up!" Watch the trailer at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/inamerica \----------------------------------------------------------/ Mesaba, Pilots Reach Tentative Contract January 11, 2004 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 7:10 a.m. ET MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Mesaba Airlines and its pilots reached agreement on a tentative contract early Sunday, averting a strike that could have threatened the regional carrier's survival. The agreement came after talks had stretched more than a day past a strike deadline. No details were released. Mesaba, which ferries passengers from rural areas to Northwest Airlines' hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis, said it would resume nearly full operations on Sunday. Mesaba spokesman Dave Jackson declined to take questions about the contract. The airline issued a statement praising ``the professionalism and contribution'' of its pilots. Tom Wychor, head of the Mesaba unit of the Air Lines Pilots Association, said the agreement puts Mesaba pilots in line with their peers without putting the company at risk. ``This is a very competitive agreement for the pilots and for the company,'' Wychor said. ``It's a good agreement.'' Before the agreement was reached, Mesaba canceled 73 flights for Sunday because of the uncertainty. Jackson said those cancellations would stand but another 543 departures were expected to go off as planned. Both sides said no details of the agreement would be released until it has been presented to pilots, a process that could take 10 days or more. Pay was a key issue. ALPA said about half of Mesaba's pilots earn less than $35,000 for full-time work. Talks dragged on for more than two years, and in October, 98 percent of the pilots authorized a strike. Mesaba's only customer is Northwest Airlines, which owns 28 percent of the smaller carrier, provides its airplanes and handles its reservations. About one in every 12 passengers flies part of their trip on Mesaba. About 20 cities have no air service other than Mesaba. Mesaba said it needed to keep its costs flat to continue flying for Northwest, which has another regional carrier, Pinnacle Airlines. Pilots for both Northwest and Pinnacle had said they would not fly new routes or larger planes to make up for the strike. Mesaba canceled all of Saturday's schedule, stranding many travelers. That included Tom Lee, of Queen Creek, Ariz. Lee said he wasn't even aware a strike was looming until he arrived at Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon from Phoenix and found his connecting flight to Aberdeen, S.D., canceled. He was traveling to Aberdeen to be a pallbearer at his best friend's funeral. ``They didn't tell me anything, nothing, when I checked in this morning,'' said Lee, as he researched car rentals and other flights. ``Northwest said I could get a refund if I fly back today to Phoenix, but that doesn't get me to Aberdeen.'' Lee said he would look at other options next time he visits family and friends in South Dakota. ``I like Northwest, I fly them a lot,'' Lee said. ``But this has got to make you question.'' ^------ On the Net: Mesaba Airlines: http://www.mesaba.com Air Line Pilots Association: http://www.alpa.org Northwest Airlines: http://www.nwa.com http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Mesaba-Pilots.html?ex=1074839962&ei=1&en=2f6da9c9f8002cb8 --------------------------------- 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