A Yunnan Province court yesterday ordered a pilot to pay 1.4 million yuan (US$200,000) in compensation for resigning from China Eastern Airlines.

The Kunming Intermediate Court ordered Zheng Zhihong, a captain at China Eastern's Yunnan subsidiary, to pay 1.34 million yuan in training fees within 15 days to the airline.

Zheng should also, within 30 days of the ruling, return the 73,005 yuan in salary he was paid by the company after he resigned, the court ruled.

The court also told China Eastern to transfer Zheng's files to the Civil Aviation Administration within 15 days to allow Zheng to find a new job, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The ruling was the final legal action in the case.

Zheng was first ordered to pay 1.37 million yuan in compensation in December by the Kunming Guandu Court. It also ordered that the company transfer Zheng's files within three months.

Both Zheng and the ariline appealed this ruling.

Yesterday Zheng said he was satisfied with the final verdict and called it a "win-win outcome" because he did not need to wait three months to find another job, Xinhua said.

Zheng, 43, was one of the most skilled pilots at China Eastern Airlines' Yunnan subsidiary and he resigned in May 2007.

The airline asked for 12.57 million yuan in compensation because of the amount of money it had spent training him.

The company also asked him not to work in the airline industry because he had acquired "secret skills," previous reports said.

The case soon generated headlines around the country and caused controversy.

The ruling may set a precedent for similar cases.

Disputes between domestic carriers and pilots have been in the spotlight recently after incidents in March and last year.

More than 40 flight captains with Shanghai Airlines took sick leave on March 14 after claiming they were being "treated unfairly."

On March 28, an identical scenario unfolded at the Wuhan-based East Star Airlines when 11 captains suddenly took leave. The disruption caused the cancellation of several flights at Wuhan Airport.

(Shanghai Daily April 25, 2008)