Airlines Seek Pension Relief

Congressional committees that will shape coming pension reform legislation include the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; and the House Committee on Ways and Means.

A spokesman for the chairman of the Senate committee says committee members have yet to decide what ultimate reform they will propose.

A spokesman for Rep. John Boehner (R., Ohio), chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said Boehner is preparing comprehensive pension reform legislation but "there are no plans to have airline-specific relief in that bill," the spokesman said.

Still, observers say lawmakers may end up helping the airlines as part of a broader package. "If you look at what's historically been the path of steel or automobiles or airlines, they're very capital-intensive and energy-intensive, with aging workforces and lots of competition," said Mann. "So the issue is, 'Why are we doing this just for the airlines?' Maybe an approach that would be less industry-specific would be to address the issues facing mature industries with lots of foreign or low-cost competition."