Comair to Throw Out Flight Attendant Contract

Comair, a unit of Delta Air Lines, will ask a bankruptcy judge for permission to terminate its flight attendant union contract. Both Delta and Comair filed for bankruptcy last fall and Comair has been negotiating for months with the flight attendants' union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, but to no avail. A bankruptcy court judge previously refused to let the carrier scrap the contract and sent them back to the bargaining table. It's not known, however, if the judge will now feel enough time has been given to both parties. The union wants no "give backs" but Comair wants $9 million in labor concessions from the union, as part of an overall $42 million cost reduction program. Comair already has agreements with other unions, but those deals are contingent upon the flight attendants agreeing to similar cuts.