Delta ALPA Negotiate Early-Out Package For Senior Pilots As Boeing 777 Retirements Near

Delta pilots say they have negotiated an early-out letter package that will enable pilots who are nearing retirement to leave the carrier with an attractive benefit package.

The Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, anticipates that about 1,000 to 2,000 of Delta’s 14,500 pilots will accept the package, clearing the way for later negotiations over additional voluntary furloughs, if needed, as airlines reduce flying in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

In May, Delta said it will retire all 18 of its Boeing 777s by the end of the year.

The early-out package agreement reached Thursday is expected to appeal to pilots who are closing in on retirement, in particular Boeing 777 pilots, although any senior pilot is eligible, said Chris Riggins, Delta ALPA spokesman.

“We want to mitigate involuntary furloughs,” Riggins said. “We want to work with management to find every amount of voluntary savings we can to help them, because we want Delta to be the strongest U.S. airline when this pandemic is over.

“If we can find enough savings to prevent involuntary furloughs, that’s the end goal,” Riggins said. “The next step is to sit down with the company and start to work on voluntary programs in addition to this early out program.”

The letter of agreement reached Thursday “provides an attractive, seniority-driven benefit and also helps (the carrier) to preserve cash and mitigate the short-term pilot surplus,” according to a report to pilots issued late Thursday.

“This agreement is beneficial to Delta as it provides a method of allowing pilots to retire early and avoid costly retraining expenses as the airline resizes in response to the pandemic,” the report says. “For pilots, it’s favorable in that with every early retirement, the size of our pilot group is reduced and can mitigate future furloughs.”

The package is available to pilots who have 10 years of service and are at least 50 years old, or pilots who have 25 years of service, or pilots whose age and years of service total 70.  Accrued vacation benefits will be paid, health care benefits will be paid for two years or until age 65, whichever comes first, and travel benefits will be available for one year.

Separately, this week 2,558 Delta pilots were provided layoff notifications under State of New York’s labor law requirements, which mandate 90-day notices.

Those notices went to lower-seniority pilots who face involuntary layoffs. ALPA’s intent is to prevent those involuntary layoffs by encouraging voluntary layoffs with attractive packages.

“If we can take people off the top of the list, we are hoping that mitigates the furloughs at the bottom of the list,” Riggins said.

Every time a 777 is parked, ten to 14 pilots are displaced and must be trained on other aircraft, displacing other pilots who must also be retrained.

The cost to train a pilot on a new aircraft is about $45,000. Riggins said. If the mostly senior 777 pilots can be induced to take an early-out, a series of subsequent displacements can be avoided.

Delta said Friday, “Delta and the Air Line Pilots Association have reached an agreement on a pilot-specific early retirement program. As we work to manage through the impact of the pandemic and align staffing with expected flying demand, this voluntary early-out plan, together with other similar programs for all Delta employees, is a meaningful next step.”