ARLINGTON, Va. — US Airways Group Inc.'s pilots union said the two sides agreed on pay concessions and continued talks on other cost-cutting issues as the seventh-largest U.S. airline tries to avoid bankruptcy.
Major unresolved issues include job security and compensation such as an equity stake in exchange for concessions, said Air Line Pilots Association spokesman Roy Freundlich. The union and the airline plan to negotiate through the weekend if necessary, he said. He declined to provide pay-accord details. US Airways wouldn't discuss the talks.
US Airways has been negotiating with all its unions for concessions to help get a $900 million loan guarantee the airline sought from the federal government in June. Labor concessions would make up most of $1.3 billion in annual cost reductions the carrier is seeking, including $595 million from the pilots.
The pilots union represents 4,800 active US Airways employees and 1,070 laid off after the Sept. 11 attacks. The Arlington, Va.-based airline already has reached tentative agreements with its flight attendants and flight dispatchers unions.
Wage cuts and contract changes in the agreement reached June 30 with the Association of Flight Attendants would save the company $77 million a year through 2008. Details of the agreement this week with the Transport Workers Union of America, which represents 160 flight dispatchers, weren't disclosed. Members of both unions must approve the agreements.
US Airways plans to use the government loan guarantee to secure a $1 billion private loan and complete a restructuring plan that includes increasing revenue through new partnerships with U.S. and international airlines and using more small jets. The company has had net losses of $1.43 billion since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks led to a drop in air travel.
The company's shares rose 12 cents to $3.26. They have declined 82 percent in the past year.
