The refusal of some Delta Air Lines pilots to work overtime caused cancellation of about 5 percent of the Atlanta-based carrier's flights over the weekend, but Delta said it had made alternate arrangements for most of its customers.
What's the problem? The usual suspect: labor contract talks between the airline and its pilots that began in September 1999 and have now dragged on for 15 months.
Monday morning at Salt Lake City International Airport, Delta canceled at least four outbound flights — to San Jose, Chicago, New York and Orlando — and five inbound flights.
Sarel Roeloffze, a South African who was informed both his flight to New York and connector to Johannesburg were canceled, had little sympathy for Delta's pilots.
"If it is the pilots' strike, obviously I'm (angry)," said Roeloffze, who said he was given few details by Delta. "Because one guy is not satisfied, everyone is affected."
Phil Pulsipher, a Utah County businessman who takes the 8:45 a.m. flight to San Jose every Monday, said Delta called him at 4 a.m. to tell him his flight was canceled, and he would be booked on the 11:25 a.m. flight instead.
"It was better to get a call than come and wait for three hours," he said. "But that flight is always full. I don't see how they can get everybody from that one on the 11:25 flight."
Jerry Roberts of Orem was one of the fortunate ones Monday, but Roberts said he flies Delta almost twice a week and has had nothing but trouble in the past month. Often, he said, his flights have been delayed due to mechanical problems, leaving him to suspect Delta does not have enough mechanics on the job.
Norm Thompson, duty manager for the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, said the cancellations have not caused problems for the airport. "We haven't noticed any impact as far as crowds or traffic," he said.
Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier, operates a major "hub-and-spoke" operation at Salt Lake City International Airport, and some 600 of its pilots are based in this area.
Delta spokeswoman Alesia Watson told the Deseret News Monday that the airline couldn't specifically say how many of its Salt Lake flights were affected by the job action, but since it was a "slow travel day," she expected any impact to be minimal. She also said that Delta found other flights to accommodate most of
the customers affected by the flight cancellations over the weekend.
"We are contacting customers who are affected and reviewing our options," Watson said. "We're prepared to take legal action to protect our customers."
How can you force someone to work overtime? Because of something called the Railway Labor Act, which also applies to pilots, she said.
"If Delta decides to go to a judge, it's not because some pilots are not working what people call overtime but because of a concerted effort by some pilots to change the norm."
And pilots flying overtime — or what Delta terms "additional flight time" — is the norm, she said. "Additional flight time" includes "premium pay" (at a higher but unspecified rate) just as "overtime" usually does in other occupations.
The Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) has said that it does not condone its members applying pressure on management by refusing to work overtime but is quick to point out that under the terms of their contract, pilots decide individually whether they will take on extra flight assignments.
Relations between airlines and their pilots have seldom been cordial, and Delta has been no exception. But Delta's pilots contend they offered substantial wage concessions in the early 1990s when the airline was struggling financially. Thus, in September 1999, coming off of two consecutive years of $1 billion-plus profits for Delta, they announced they wanted to recoup those concessions in the new contract.
That month, they began negotiating six months ahead of the May 2, 2000, date when the contract could legally be amended, asking for salary raises, better training pay, codification of test rules, better retirement benefits and other benefits.
But no progress had been made by May 2, and on that day, Delta pilots walked picket lines at Salt Lake City International and other airports in Delta's system in what they termed an "informational protest" against Delta's refusal to meet their demands for higher wages and benefits at a time when the airline was earning record profits.
At that time, Watson said it usually takes two years of negotiation to reach agreement on such contract issues.
Delta and ALPA have asked for federal mediation on the issues.
In a recorded message on the Delta pilots' hotline, a Delta official said the Atlanta-based carrier was having "significant disruptions" in its schedule because the airline's 9,400 pilots have been declining to sign up for voluntary overtime assignments since new contract talks got under way in earnest last month.
The recording said Delta canceled 67 flights Friday, 148 Saturday and perhaps 200 Sunday when sufficient crews could not be put together.
In addition to the overtime "job action," there has also been discussion among pilots that they call in sick, engage in slowdowns, increase maintenance write-ups and engage in other such non-overt protests.
Ironically, last week Delta said its pilots were requesting more overtime work after the airline struggled with crew shortages over Thanksgiving, traditionally the busiest travel week of the year. Earlier in November, overtime requests had dropped by more than 60 percent.
Spokesman Russ Williams said last week that the airline would take a "wait-and-see approach" about the rise in overtime requests, a caution that proved wise after what happened over the weekend.
E-MAIL: max@desnews.com ; zman@desnews.com