Delta slowdown has minimal effect at BIA

BANGOR – Delta Airlines plans to notify and rebook air travelers who will be affected by a possible work slowdown, according to Bangor International Airport’s marketing manager.

But local customers who are using Delta Connections to fly to Cincinnati, one of the airline’s largest hubs, “shouldn’t really suffer any major impact or inconveniences,” Jeff Russell said Wednesday.

“When they arrive in Cincinnati their travel plans will already have been adjusted, so they can simply proceed to the aircraft they’ve been assigned to.”

Delta pilots’ refusal to work overtime as part of a contract dispute has resulted in 100 to 125 fewer flights daily, affecting 3 to 5 percent of Delta’s 2,700 flights.

The company is being proactive by taking flights out of the system to accommodate the possible pilot shortage and by notifying and rebooking customers in advance, according to Russell.

Delta issued a statement Tuesday stating that the company will “adjust [its] schedule to improve reliability,” he said.

Bangor’s pilots are employed by Delta Connections, which is wholly owned by Delta Airlines, according to Russell.

Those pilots are operating under their own contract, he said.

The situation should get resolved as the travel season picks up, Russell said.

Meanwhile, Delta’s Bangor operation has been “packing people on to air flights and doing a good job,” he said.

The airline, which sued its pilots’ union and 49 pilots Tuesday, sought a temporary restraining order in federal court after it canceled 366 flights last weekend.

Delta has been in contract negotiations with pilots since September 1999.