ATLANTA — Hoping to end a daily scramble to staff flights, Delta Air Lines will ask a federal judge Tuesday to issue a temporary restraining order to compel Delta pilots to resume flying overtime shifts.
The airline said it has canceled more than 300 flights over the weekend and has struggled for more than three weeks to schedule enough pilots to fulfill its daily schedule of nearly 2,700 flights.
Delta is accusing pilots of taking an illegal job action to express displeasure with ongoing contract negotiations. Under their existing contract, Delta pilots are free to decide whether to fly extra hours.
The company scheduled a news conference Tuesday morning to explain its request for court action.
Delta has been in contract negotiations with the pilots since September 1999. Many of Delta's 9,400 pilots have been declining voluntary overtime assignments since last month, when Delta presented the pilots' union with a 10-year pay proposal that pilots contend is inadequate.
Delta is seeking to tie pilots' future pay with the company's financial performance. The pilots want a four-year deal offering annual raises.
Delta, the nation's third-biggest carrier, says pilots' overtime requests have plunged 60 percent to 70 percent from normal levels. Delta says only about 5 percent of its schedule is based on overtime flying, but a few canceled flights can exacerbate the problem throughout its route system.
Delta officials did not provide the number of flights canceled Monday because of crew shortages but said the weekend flight disruptions affected more than 40,000 passengers.
The pilots' union, the Air Line Pilots Association, called Delta's legal fight "disappointing."
"We have repeatedly and consistently and clearly told our membership that we're opposed to concerted work actions of any type," ALPA spokeswoman Karen Miller said.
The Atlanta-based airline said it is calling as many customers as possible to notify them of canceled and delayed flights and urges Delta passengers to provide their phone numbers when they make reservations.
In cities where Delta offers frequent service — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Washington — the company is trying to combine some flights, spokesman Russ Williams said. Passengers to and from many other destinations are being rebooked on other carriers.
The suit makes Delta the latest airline seeking court relief to restore service as upset workers seeking improved contracts.
American sued its pilots' union last year and won a $45.5 million judgment after a "sickout" forced thousands of canceled flights, and Northwest has obtained a court order against its mechanics for job actions that have hobbled that carrier's flights.
The Northwest mechanics union agreed to obey an injunction issued by a federal judge on Monday but continued to deny company allegations of a work slowdown during the holiday season.
United Airlines has also undergone labor woes. It canceled thousands of flights this summer because pilots refused extra flying and is now embroiled in contentious contract talks with its mechanics.
Many pilots mistakenly believe that not flying overtime will improve the union's bargaining position — a view with which ALPA disagrees, said Greg Holm, a union spokesman and Delta pilot.
ALPA is drafting a letter to members warning them that such job actions are not productive and could harm contract talks, he said.
"There are just some people out there who are just very angry" at Delta, Holm said. "And maybe there are some who think it has worked at other airlines; who knows?"
On the Net:
Delta Air Lines, www.delta.com
Northwest Airlines, www.nwa.com
United Airlines, www.united.com