El Al took delivery today of two new Boeing 737 jumbo jets, flown directly to Ben Gurion Airport from the manufacturer in Seattle by El Al crews trained by Boeing to operate them.
The arrival of the new aircraft, which cost $60 million, was seen as a sign that the bankrupt national air carrier is well on the way to recovery under its new management. One of the planes landed empty. The other carried passengers picked up at a stopover in Zurich.
El Al resumed service a week ago after being grounded for four months during which it was placed in the hands of a receiver, Plans to liquidate the carrier were abandoned, however, when management reached a new labor agreement with Histadrut, covering all employes except apparently the pilots. The latter returned to work under protest and have appealed to a Jerusalem district court for a ruling that they are not bound by the new contract.
PILOTS MIGHT LEAVE HISTADRUT
The pilots, who claim their dispute with management involves safety-related matters, are discussing the possibility of leaving Histadrut, Israel’s all-embracing labor federation. They would also resign from El Al and form an independent company that would negotiate directly with the airline management to provide pilot service. Under such an arrangement, a contract negotiated with the pilots would not be linked to those of regular El Al employes.
The latter, for example, could not demand wage hikes if the pilots received an increase. The government has not commented on the idea but observers believe it would favor such an arrangement. El Al, meanwhile, had been operating between 4-9 flights a week to Europe, carrying as many passengers as its long-idle sales force can muster.
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