=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2004/09/29/f= inancial1116EDT0094.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, September 29, 2004 (AP) Brazil's Vasp resumes flights after striking workers receive back pay (09-29) 08:16 PDT SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Vasp, Brazil's fourth largest airline, resumed flights Wednesday after striking workers received back pay and went back to work, the company said. Most Vasp flights were canceled Tuesday after more than 1,000 pilots and flight attendants walked off the job because the financially troubled carrier failed to make August salary payments. The payments were made Tuesday night, the company said. Vasp has suffered from a drop in passenger demand since 2001. It has also lost market share to no-frills competitor Gol, which has moved into the number three slot among Brazilian airlines. Vasp has 5,100 employees and 31 jets. Besides labor problems, the company has an aging fleet. Government officials last week grounded six Vasp Boeing 737s for failure to have detailed maintenance plans in place. That forced Vasp to cancel numerous flights around the country and scramble to find seats on other airlines for its passengers. Government officials are studying a bailout plan for the country's troubled domestic airlines, including a restructuring of tax debts and creation of a new regulatory agency. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP