May 10, 2004
The Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) -- Delta Air Lines said Monday that it may have to file for bankruptcy if its pilots union doesn't agree to significant wage cuts, the first time the struggling carrier has publicly linked the two issues.

The nation's third-largest airline has been cautious about discussing the possibility of bankruptcy. But Delta said Monday in a quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it might pursue Chapter 11 unless it achieves a "competitive cost structure" for pilot wages.

A spokesman for Delta acknowledged that it's the first time such language has been used in a public filing.

"It's an option," the spokesman, Anthony Black, said of bankruptcy. "It's not anything we see in the foreseeable future, but it's out there."

Shares of Delta fell 84 cents, or 15.6 percent, to close at $4.54 on the New York Stock Exchange, the company's lowest close on record since 1980.

The pilots union released a statement saying it's willing to help Delta cut costs and has attempted to negotiate with the company.

Delta is seeking a 30 percent pay cut from pilots, who are offering only 9 percent and to forego a 4.5 percent raise they were to have received earlier this month.

Delta has lost more than $3 billion and laid off 16,000 employees in the last three years. In the first quarter, it lost $387 million.

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=46722