A US bankruptcy court judge approved Delta Air Lines Inc's request to sell some of its airplanes and to reject an Atlanta office lease.
Judge Prudence Carter Beatty said on Tuesday she would allow Delta to sell an undisclosed number of aircraft including include Boeing 737, Embraer 120 and Boeing 767 models. It was not evident whether Delta already has a buyer for the aircraft or how much it might get for them. No details were disclosed on the office lease.
The ruling came as Delta management and its pilots union prepared to present their cases in a fourth day of hearings devoted to Delta's motion to reject their contract, a move the airline it says it needs to successfully emerge from bankruptcy.
Tuesday's hearing also featured testimony form an industry specialist, Daniel Kasper, a managing director of LECG LLC, which provides expert testimonials.
Kasper testified for Delta that the bankrupt airline's financial woes were due to the emergence of low cost carriers, increased customer use of the Internet for buying low-price tickets and a reluctance among business travelers to buy high-cost tickets.
At the same time, he said, the airline has been saddled with high labor costs.
Delta wants to eliminate the pilot contract so it can cut labor costs, which the company says it needs to successfully emerge from bankruptcy.
"The industry has become commoditized. Price is the main driver," said Kasper, who previously served at the US Civil Aeronautics Board as director of international aviation.
Kasper was expected to continue yesterday, the fifth day of hearings focused on the pilots' contract.
Captain Lee Moak, chairman of the Delta Airline Pilots Association, questioned the validity of comparing Delta's financials to those of a low-cost carrier.
"At some point they have to decide what they want to be -- a low-cost carrier or a full-service international carrier," Moak said in an interview after court.
"They [Delta] want to have low-cost carrier costs on a full-service international carrier," he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source