T.W.A. Settles

Trans World Airlines last week settled its 16-day strike, but the labor fog continued to swirl thickly around other major U. S. airlines. After a marathon negotiating conference in Kansas City, Mo., T.W.A. agreed on a three-year pact that will give its 6,700 mechanics a total wage increase of 44-c- an hour (to $2.95 in the pact's third year), just about what National Airlines settled for two weeks ago. Back into the air this week went T.W.A.'s fleet of 199 planes.

A few other airlines flew into clearer weather--at least for the time being. Thirty-three stewardesses on Lake Central Airlines, a small Midwest feeder line, ended an eleven-day walkout after winning a 20% wage hike and increased expense allowances. Pan American World Airways averted immediate trouble when the Transport Workers Union unexpectedly promised not to hamper Pan Am with walkouts or slowdowns while negotiations for a new contract are in progress. Northeast Airlines escaped a strike by reaching an accord with the International Association of Machinists, keeping the terms secret until after ratification by the union membership.

At Eastern Air Lines, struck by both mechanics and flight engineers, no settlement was in sight after two weeks of shutdown. The mechanics, who want a 49-c--an-hour pay boost, last week turned down as "totally unacceptable" an Eastern offer to meet its demands because Eastern did not include sufficient retroactive provisions or agree to change working conditions. Eastern's flight engineers, who originally walked out to protest the company's requirement that they take flight training before serving on jet planes, switched to striking for higher wages and better working conditions after a court enjoined them from striking on the flight-training issue. At week's end negotiations had been broken off, and union officials were warning their members to dig in for a long strike.

American Airlines kept its planes aloft in the face of a threatened pilot strike only by protection of a court order. The order forbade the pilots to strike before this week, when the court was to decide whether it will make its injunction permanent. But the very threat of strike, charged American, had hurt its business by causing travelers to switch to other lines or other transportation. In the first request in airline history for reparations in a nonstrike period, American asked the court to force the pilots to pay $90,000 daily in damages since Nov. 22, when its members planned to quit work. If the pilots strike, American wants $850,000 a day in damages.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.