After lengthy negotiations with the Company on a global scope solution, I am pleased to report that we have reached an Agreement in Principle (AIP) on this issue that is critical to protecting our careers. The global air travel landscape has shifted during the pandemic. With the Company’s continued and expanded use of international Joint Ventures, now is the time to ensure the Delta pilots have an equitable share of international widebody flying that is guaranteed through strong, enforceable contractual protections. This framework is the first of its kind in the industry and ensures that, going forward, Delta flying matches or exceeds the growth of its partner airlines. This agreement is a significant, hard-fought milestone for the Delta pilots. It is also a product of lessons learned from nearly two decades of frustrating attempts to govern our international partner flying through piecemeal agreements.

AIP Overview: Section 1 Improvements

As briefed to the Delta MEC at a special meeting last week, we have a conceptual agreement.  Final contract language on this very complex topic is currently being drafted, which is a critical process that will take some time to do right. Once the language is complete and agreed to by both parties, we will have a Tentative Agreement (TA) to present to the MEC for its consideration. Below is a very high-level overview of the improvements we have achieved. Please remain engaged as there will be much more information once we have developed the final TA language.

Highlights include:

• Establishes a one-for-one growth guarantee of widebody flying relative to Delta’s partners
• Requirement for Delta to re-establish its share of pre-Covid international flying
• Eliminates the patchwork approach to scope by consolidating all long-haul partner flying into one durable agreement which accounts for changes to partnerships and geography
• Agreement includes flying performed by:
  • Joint Venture partners
  • Partners in which Delta has a significant ownership stake
  • Any partner that carries greater than a defined number of Delta passengers
  • Future partners that meet the above criteria
• Protections that ensure Delta is not left out of flying in the Atlantic, Pacific and South American geographic theaters
• Compliance measurements on a quarterly basis with no buffers or cure periods
• Automatic and immediate widebody staffing remediation in the event of non-compliance
• Strengthened contractual force majeure and partner control provisions

Next Steps

The path forward includes:

• When contractual language is finalized, the TA will be provided to your elected union representatives for a seven-day review (per the MEC Policy Manual).
• The MEC will review, discuss and vote on the TA while in session (either at the June Regular Meeting in MSP or a Special MEC Meeting).
• If the MEC votes to approve the TA, it will be sent to the pilots for membership ratification. A multi-faceted communications plan will commence (Negotiators’ Notepad, Virtual Town Hall, FAQs, podcast, etc.).
• This agreement has been reached independently from the current Section 6 negotiations. This provides Delta pilots the opportunity to evaluate whether the agreement stands on its own merits.
• You, the line pilot, will ultimately decide whether the new scope language becomes part of our PWA.

The importance of this AIP is underscored by the recent arbitrator’s ruling regarding the damages award for the six Korean Air Joint Venture grievances. While the arbitrator agreed with ALPA’s argument that Delta violated Section 1 E. 8. by failing to fly the requisite block hours between the U.S. and Korea/Japan, he did not adopt ALPA’s preferred jobs-based approach on grounds that it deviated from the usual remedies for breach of contract and instead ordered the Company to pay $2.75 million in compensatory damages to the Delta MEC. This AIP will ensure that all Global Scope violations moving forward result in widebody jobs-based remediation.

We ask for your patience as the final language is drafted. Look for detailed information from your union to stay up to date. We will ensure all of your questions are answered. 

This AIP will be a significant step forward for the Delta pilots in our long fight for equitable widebody flying. Please stay informed and engaged. As soon as there is more news to share, you will hear it directly from your Union.