ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 8 (Bloomberg News) — The US Airways Group's pilots have voted 76 percent in favor of giving the company $465 million in concessions in exchange for a 20 percent stake in the carrier. þþUS Airways' Air Line Pilots Association told its members in a message today that 2,824 pilots had voted to approve and 908 voted against the agreement. It will be retroactive to July 1 and will run through 2008, the union said. þþThe carrier has said that it needs concessions from all its labor unions as well as suppliers and creditors to win final approval for a $900 million federal loan guarantee to help it secure a $1 billion loan and to avoid a bankruptcy filing. þþWhen the agreement goes into effect, the company has the option to lay off more pilots and to reduce the number of jets it flies at its main airline to 275 jets from 311, he said. þþThe union, which represents about 4,800 active US Airways pilots and 1,070 who were laid off after the Sept. 11 attacks, said that 86 percent of eligible members voted. þThe airline met with some bondholders today in New York and assured them that the company will make debt payments it began deferring in June and that it will most likely be able to complete the financial restructuring without a bankruptcy filing. þþ
Source: NY Times
