Pilots at Delta and Northwest will soon be talking again

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Pilots at Delta and Northwest airlines are looking to resume negotiations on merging their workforces as the two airlines combine.

The Air Line Pilots Association says negotiators from both airlines will aim to work out a joint union contract before the two airlines combine. Once that is done, the chairmen of the two unions say they want to negotiate a seniority agreement.

The lack of a seniority agreement is what kept them from making a deal before Delta and Northwest announced plans to join into the world's largest airline.
Northwest pilots had vowed to kill the tie-up between Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. because they were left out of contract talks at the end.

Northwest pilots say they still oppose the combination, but that a joint contract with Delta pilots would be a step in the right direction.