Pilots at collapsed Swiss national carrier Swissair are mulling an employee buy-out as an alternative to a bank-led rescue deal that would wind up parts of their airline.
"There has been a groundswell of support from the public and members are coming up with ideas for an alternative to the plan of UBS," pilots' union spokesman Mr Hannu Ruprecht said.
An employee buy-out like at United Airlines (UAL) is certainly one of the models we will review, he said, adding no concrete steps towards an alternative offer had yet been made.
In 1994, UAL workers obtained a 55 per cent stake in the company in return for about $5 billion in wage and work-rule cuts, which made the company the largest owned by employees in the US.
On Monday, parent Swissair Group accepted a 1.4 billion Swiss franc ($860 million) rescue deal by banks UBS and Credit Suisse Group that aims to make regional carrier Crossair the new national airline.
The deal followed a severe liquidity crisis in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the United States that brought the heavily indebted Swissair Group to its knees.
The banks acquired Swissair Group's 70 per cent stake in Crossair, which will take over about two-thirds of Swissair flight operations.
The Swissair Group holding company - formally known as SAirGroup - the SAirLines division and the Flightlease leasing unit are set to file for court protection from creditors while they seek a buyer or face liquidation.