Faster 50-Seater Withdrawal Could Save Delta $473 Million

Delta Air Lines could save close to $500 million in engine maintenance, Bombardier CRJ200 ownership and Delta Connection contract costs if its pilots ratify a new collective bargaining agreement they are voting on this month, the union’s contract negotiating team says. The proposed new pilot contract includes terms that would enable Delta to drop almost 200 50-seat aircraft from its network by the end of 2015—faster than it can under the current contract—and do so shortly before many of them are due for expensive engine overhauls ...