Airlines Are Making Tons of Money. Now Pilots Want Their Pensions Back
Airline pilots, still resentful over pensions yanked away in a wave of industry bankruptcies, see growing company profits as a chance to reclaim some of those lost benefits.
Unions at American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. are studying ways to reconstitute or replace retirement plans that were scrapped or frozen during the carriers’ past financial struggles.
The efforts suggest that pilots are ready to play hardball over the issue in the next round of labor talks, starting early next year at American. The three biggest U.S. carriers have reported combined adjusted profits of about $47 billion over the past five years. But reviving old retirement plans would be a big new expense for the companies just as other costs, such as fuel, are rising.
