Pilots Reach Tentative Deal With US Airways on Pay Cuts

After weeks of discussion, U.S. Airways and its pilots' union came to a temporary agreement on a $300 million cut in annual pay and benefits. The deal includes an 18 percent cut in annual wages, a reduction in the pilots' retirement benefits, and a requirement that pilots must work more hours per month for the same wages they are receiving now. Approval of this contract would exempt pilots from the emergency salary cuts the airline was trying to put into effect after it filed for bankruptcy. The airline would have to liquidate as soon as mid-February with out these cuts. Currently, the pilots' union must decide whether or not to offer the deal to the pilots and ask for approval. Agreement of this deal by pilots is essential for U.S. Airways in order to convince other airline employees to go along with the changes being made.