ATLANTA — Intense talks between negotiators for Delta Air Lines Inc. and its pilots union continued for a third straight day Thursday without word of an agreement on long-term pay and benefit cuts that could avert a crippling strike at the nation's third-largest carrier.
The closed-door discussions at a New York hotel could go into the weekend. A Saturday deadline looms for an arbitration panel to decide whether to void the pilot contract to allow the Atlanta-based airline to impose up to $325 million in cuts.
The pilots union has threatened to strike if its contract is thrown out. Delta, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection since September, has said in court papers that a pilot strike would put it out of business.
Spokesmen for the company and the union declined to provide details about the negotiations.
The arbitration panel chairman, Richard Bloch, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he might have a statement by the end of the week. He declined to elaborate on the timing or on what the statement might say.
The panel could delay its decision if the talks between Delta and its pilots union were close to an agreement, though it's unclear whether the two sides would have to ask for a delay.
Any deal on long-term pay and benefit cuts would have to be ratified by the airline's 5,930 pilots.
The cuts Delta is seeking would include a wage reduction of at least 18 percent.
The company has offered to reduce its concessions request to $305 million a year if the pilots reach a consensual deal, while the pilots say they have offered $140 million. It's not clear how, or if, those positions have changed since negotiations picked up steam Tuesday.
Delta's pilots previously agreed to $1 billion in annual concessions, including a 32.5 percent wage cut, in a five-year deal in 2004. But Delta, which has imposed pay cuts on other employees, said it needs more from its pilots.
The company says the average earnings of pilots last year who worked the full year was more than $157,000. But the pilots union has said the figure was inflated by overtime and they have projected a significant decrease in average pilot earnings for 2006.
Also Thursday, Delta said it has raised passenger surcharges by at least $10 each way for most of its trans-Atlantic flights to offset fuel price increases. Excluded from the surcharge increases are trans-Atlantic flights to and from France and Italy. Additionally, Delta said the surcharge for travel to or from India will increase by $15 each way, while the surcharge for travel to and from Israel will increase by $19.
Tickets for trans-Atlantic travel bought before Friday will not be affected by the changes.