Aloha Airlines is seeking bankruptcy court approval to reject current labor contracts with its unions, but said it hopes to reach agreements with the unions before court hearings on the matter later this month.

Aloha, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December, wants to terminate its defined-benefit pension plans for about 3,000 employees and retirees and turn them over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the federal agency that insures basic pension benefits. The airline is also negotiating with unions on other concessions, including requiring workers to pay 20 percent of their medical insurance premiums, which are now fully funded by the company.

The concessions would save Aloha $11 million to $20.5 million annually, not including savings from terminating defined-benefit pension plans, estimated at between $36.6 million to $58.2 million over the next five years, the company said in a court filing.

In the filing, the company also said it owes about $9.3 million in past due contributions to the pilots' pension plan for 2004 and 2005.

Aloha, which had already received concessions from employees earlier this year, is not seeking additional pay cuts.

Aloha's court filing drew criticism yesterday from the Air Line Pilots Association, which said the company had assured the union it would avoid filing the motion and work on a consensual agreement.

"The Aloha Airlines management has failed to demonstrate the need for us to take these drastic concessions at this time," said David Bird, chairman of the master executive council for the Aloha pilots' union. "While we are aware of the cash crunch our company faces, management should be negotiating with us rather than trying to use the courts to raid its own workers who have worked so hard to make Aloha successful."

Aloha said it has to lower expenses to stay in business.

"Given the current condition of the industry, and particularly fuel costs, Aloha has no choice but to lower its cost structure," said Aloha spokesman Stu Glauberman. "Fuel has gone up one dollar a gallon since we began our discussions with the union. In addition, we have found over the past several months that no investor will invest in a company that has a defined-benefits program."

Glauberman also said the company is "hopeful that we can reach consensual agreements with our unions ... before the hearing dates" on the motion. At least one hearing date has been scheduled, for Oct. 28.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.