The pilots for Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines have approved a collective bargaining deal. Confirmation of the deal has been a major element of the efforts from Delta Air Lines in achieving a smooth integration with the 2 airlines when they acquire Northwest Airlines later in the year.

The pilots union of Delta Air Lines issued a statement with details of the results on Monday of last week, which was the deadline for both of the airlines’ pilots to vote on rank-and-file. Leaders of the union from both carriers pushed a vote for yes on the joint agreement, of which will ultimately boost the wages of the pilots 18% over a period of 4 years. There has still not been a deal made for integrating the pilots’ seniority lists, however, they have agreed to give-in to binding arbitration, pending they are not able to come to an agreement on their own during a certain amount of time. They have already chosen a 3-member panel in case an arbitration is necessary.

Seniority is something that pilots value due to the fact that it determines the schedule they get, the aircraft that are chosen to fly, and protection from being laid off. Delta Air Lines hopes they will complete their stock-swap agreement in order to acquire Northwest Airlines by this year’s end. The conjunction is subject to United States and shareholder regulatory approval. Regulators in Europe cleared the agreement last week. The agreement that was made on Monday covers about 12,000 pilots for both of the carriers.

Visit www.delta.com -or- www.nwa.com to find out more.