Delta Files Suit Over Pilots’ Overtime Refusals

Delta Air Lines sued its pilots’ union and 49 pilots and said it will trim 100 to 125 flights from its schedule as it tries to manage mounting cancellations caused by pilots refusing to work overtime. Delta Chairman and Chief Executive Leo Mullin said the airline was forced to seek a temporary restraining order against the pilots in federal court after it canceled 386 flights from Friday to Sunday. Those cancellations affected 43,000 travelers, Mullin said in a conference call with reporters. Last month, Atlanta-based Delta scrubbed 375 flights because of crew shortages. The schedule cuts, about 4% of the airline’s 2,700 daily flights, will begin immediately, Mullin said. The 49 pilots in the suit were considered organizers of the pilots’ “no-overtime” campaign, Mullin said, but declined to elaborate. Pilots’ overtime requests have plunged 60% to 70% from normal levels, Mullin said. Delta has been in contract negotiations with the pilots since September 1999. Shares in Delta rose $1.31 to close at $48.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.