ATLAS AIR, PILOTS TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS

ATLAS AIR, PILOTS TO RESUME NEGOTIATIONS    Atlas Air and the Air Line Pilots Association have accepted a National Mediation Board invitation to resume mediated conferences toward a new contract agreement, starting June 24 in Washington.
   Atlas Air, a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., and ALPA have been negotiating since April 2000 for a first labor agreement covering Atlas' pilots and flight engineers. After an initial tentative agreement was not ratified in February, the two sides held negotiations under direction of the NMB. When those negotiations did not reach agreement, the NMB released the parties from the mediated negotiations and placed them in a required 30-day cooling-off period before a strike can occur.
   While that cooling-off period ends June 28, the NMB sent a letter to Atlas and ALPA on June 17, offering to conduct further conferences toward reaching an agreement before the cooling-off period ends.
   Atlas Air, based in Purchase, N.Y., provides chartered freighter services that include Boeing 747 freighters, crew, maintenance and insurance.