Permission granted: Delta pilots can picket NWA hubs

Delta Air Lines pilots have received permits to picket at Northwest Airlines hub airports in Minneapolis and Detroit. The move comes as the impasse over a proposed merger of the two airlines’ pilot seniority lists continues. The dispute has stalled a proposed combination of the carriers.

The permits allow Delta’s pilots to picket for two weeks, starting April 10. In the past, Delta’s pilots have received such permits but not engaged in picketing. Northwest’s pilots union says it will consider picketing Delta’s hub airports.

According to the Associated Press, executives with Delta and Northwest are trying to determine whether to proceed with a merger, in spite of the ongoing dispute between the two airlines’ pilots groups.

Delta pilots pass on arbitration

Delta Air Lines’ pilots rejected Wednesday the possibility of entering into binding arbitration with Northwest Airlines’ pilots over issues related to a potential merger of the two carriers. The two airlines’ pilots groups had reached an impasse in talks over integration of seniority lists for a combined company. In a memo, Delta pilot union leader Lee Moak suggests arbitration would not be beneficial for his pilots and that talks between the two sides are over. Atlanta-based Delta had been in talks with Minneapolis-based Northwest about a possible merger, but that prospect waned in recent weeks because of unresolved issues between the airlines’ pilots.