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Airlines ‘Flush With Money’ Spur Pilots' Quest for Lost Pensions

Aviators saw retirement plans frozen during bankruptcy
Benefits likely to be focus in next round of labor talks

Operations At The American Airlines Group Inc. Terminal Ahead Of Earnings Figures — Photographer: Mark Elias/Bloomberg

By

Mary Schlangenstein and

February 20, 2018, 10:00 AM UTCUpdated onFebruary 20, 2018, 7:40 PM UTC

Airline pilots, still resentful over pensions yanked away in a wave of industry bankruptcies, see growing company profits as a chance to reclaim some of those lost benefits.

Unions at American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. are studying ways to reconstitute or replace retirement plans that were scrapped or frozen during the carriers’ past financial struggles.