Polar Air Reports Contract Pact With Pilots

Polar Air Cargo Inc., a closely held international air freight company based in Long Beach, said it reached agreement with its pilots union on a contract and continued service, averting a strike. The agreement comes after 18 months of negotiations between the company and Air Line Pilots Assn., which says it represents about 160 pilots at Polar Air. Negotiations intensified last week when the National Mediation Board, which has been overseeing the talks since April 1998, ordered the parties into a 30-day cooling-off period. Polar Air flies throughout the U.S. and has major operations in New York, Chicago and Miami. The carrier also serves 15 other countries, including China, the Netherlands, Japan and Peru. The company says it employs about 175 pilots.