Delta to add $719 million to retired pilots’ claims

Delta Air Lines Inc. said it had agreed to give its retired pilots an extra $719 million in unsecured claims in its bankruptcy case to help them recoup losses from the termination of the pilot pension plan.

The agreement, which has the support of Delta’s official committee of unsecured creditors, would increase the retired pilots’ unsecured claims to about $800 million if approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.

What retired pilots actually receive from those claims to bolster their lost retirement benefits won’t be known until Atlanta-based Delta emerges from Chapter 11 protection. That is because unsecured creditors generally get only a fraction of what they are owed.