Northwest, pilots reach deal on issues that led to cancellations
Margarita Bauza, Detroit Free Press, USA TODAY, 8/2/2007
The pilots union said Wednesday evening it had reached an agreement with Northwest Airlines on issues that led to thousands of flight cancellations in June and July.
The Air Line Pilots Association said its members would be paid overtime for flying more than 80 hours a month, and flight instructors would receive incentives to train new and returning laid-off pilots. Additionally, pilots on international flights would receive better rest accommodations, said union spokesman Wade Blaufuss.
Union leadership is expected to vote on the tentative agreement Saturday night, Blaufuss said.
The deal comes on the heels of an announcement from Northwest CEO Doug Steenland about reducing pilot flight-hour maximums and hiring pilots.
"This agreement is a step in the right direction toward addressing important issues affecting our pilot group," said union Chairman Dave Stevens in an e-mail to the pilots Wednesday. The agreement is a modification to the May 2006 contract, which sharply reduced pilots' pay and benefits. The majority of those concessions remain, Blaufuss said.
"Northwest pilots gave over $4 billion over the course of the bankruptcy contract in concessions in order to save our company from liquidation," Blaufuss said. "This agreement is a small but positive step toward recovering our careers."
Steenland, who led the company out of bankruptcy and helped it turn a profit, acknowledged that work rules in that contract led the airline to "stub its toe" during the busy summer travel season.
More than 4,000 flights were canceled in June and July, costing the airline $25 million.
"It's great that they're finally coming to an agreement, but it's an absolute shame that thousands of vacations had to be ruined to settle their differences," said Terry Trippler, an airline consultant in Minneapolis.
"Northwest Airlines has unbelievably bad employee-management relations and it's going to take a long time to repair it, if it can even fix things," Trippler said.
"Northwest Airlines is now in crisis mode," he added. "They don't have much time left to get their house in order."
Northwest cancellations fell Wednesday to five at Detroit Metro and 20 systemwide.
Of 3,114 flights Northwest said it canceled in June and July, 2,165, or 70%, were related to "pilot issues," Steenland said Wednesday.
The carrier reported profits of $273 million, excluding bankruptcy reorganization gains, for the second quarter, the airline's first earnings report since it emerged from bankruptcy May 31.
The airline's pretax profit compared with $179 million in the second quarter of last year.