Now that the Comair pilot strike has lasted four weeks, a glimmer of hope for a settlement has appeared.

        Union and company officials are set to meet this week — the first time that the sides have been face-to-face since the day before the 29-day-old strike began.

        But given the financial and philosophical distance between the sides, analysts don't expect a new contract to come out of the three-day session at the National Mediation Board in Washington, D.C.

        That's despite the deal reached Sunday between parent company Delta Air Lines Inc. and its pilots.

        “The pilots are probably feeling that they've settled up above so maybe we can get our share too,” said Richard Gritta, airline expert and business professor at the University of Portland in Oregon. “But on the other hand, the airline might be feeling like they've given away the farm to the major pilots and they can't give too much away down the line, so we could be back where we started.”

        Complicating matters even further is that the dispute is no longer just between the Erlanger-based regional carrier and its 1,350 pilots.

        Rather, parent company Delta Air Lines is closely watching the process, while the Comair pilots are trying to strike a blow for regional pilots everywhere.

        And other companies are watching, especially because many major carriers have copied Delta's model by creating regional subsidiaries that use highly profitable regional jets.

        That pressure is in addition to the baggage the two sides will already bring to the table.

        The biggest baggage is that the issues underlying the strike remain: work rules, retirement benefits, job protection and pay.

        Officials from Comair, the nation's third-largest regional carrier, say the two sides are nearly $242 million apart over four years. They also say that their latest proposal would boost total compensation about 25 percent over four years, while the pilots are asking for an increase of 85 percent.

        And there's some more baggage, too.

        Comair took its pilots to federal court twice over two years before the strike, winning an injunction against the union for illegally grounding planes for minor mechanical problems.

        The pilots union accuses the company of walking out of negotiations the day before the strike, essentially giving up on a deal before the deadline.

        Company officials counter that the pilots made it clear they were no longer willing to negotiate, and further talks were pointless.

        While no illegal actions have occurred since the strike began and although the pilots have been orderly while picketing Delta's Terminal 3 at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, the rhetoric and economic damage on both sides has been high.

        The airline has been shut down since the strike, costing Comair and parent company Delta $4 million daily.

        Comair also has eliminated 200 pilot positions — including 100 current jobs flying turboprops — and retired all nine turboprops and eight regional jets.

        “As tense as things are and have been over the week, it's not like they're going to walk in a room and kiss and make up,” said Darryl Jenkins, director of the Aviation Institute at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

        Officials from both the company and union say that a deal is possible, but that the other side has to be willing to come off its demands.

        “There is a great deal of distance to be made up, and there has to be a willingness to move by both sides,” said Comair spokesman Nick Miller.

        Union spokesman Paul Lackie said the pilots are willing to negotiate, but wouldn't say if the union was willing to come off its current position.

        “That's like me saying I won't deal until you promise you will deal,” Mr. Lackie said. “We're going with the intention of bargaining in good faith and we'll see what happens.”

        Airline expert and Miami University management professor David Walsh said, “Delta could be looking at this as one big compensation pot they have to dole out to two different parties.”

        He added that if things go well this week, the negotiations may continue and a deal could happen.

        “But that would take changing the rules and working around the clock or extending the meeting,” Mr. Walsh said. “There are a lot of compelling reasons for both sides to settle, but there are a lot of forces at work keeping them apart, too.”

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