Union considers concessions

Monday, Aug. 30, 2004 | 10:45 a.m.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- US Airways Group Inc.'s pilots union leadership said it's considering whether to reject a new contract proposal from the company, which is seeking $295 million in pay and benefit cuts to help avoid a second bankruptcy filing.

The concessions are part of $800 million in labor savings sought by Arlington, Va.-based US Airways. The airline is trying to pare $1.5 billion in annual costs to prevent going back into Chapter 11 protection and to compete with low-cost carriers.

US Airways wants to secure labor concessions by the end of September to avoid possibly defaulting on a $1 billion loan, most of it backed by the U.S. government. The carrier also faces a Sept. 15 deadline to make a $110 million payment to its pension fund, and the possible withdrawal of financing accords for regional jets by the end of September.

"We are running out of time and wasting opportunities," Bill Pollock, chairman of the US Airways Air Line Pilots Association's Master Executive Council, said in a message on the union's Web site. "This was not our finest hour."

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