Northwest Axes 2,500 Jobs, Charges for First Checked Bag
Travel Weekly, 7/10/2008
Northwest Airlines will reduce its frontline and management employees by 2,500 as a result of a previously announced capacity reduction that will take effect in the fourth quarter. All employee groups will be affected, said the airline.
Also, Northwest will match American, US Airways and United by charging a $15 fee for the first checked bag. In addition, the airline will increase the fee for ticket changes and for frequent-flyer award tickets.
“Our fuel costs have more than doubled in the past year,” said Doug Steenland, Northwest CEO. “In order to manage through this unprecedented fuel challenge, we have to take action to both control costs and increase our revenue.”
Northwest will initially turn to voluntary programs to reduce personnel. These include early-out programs, voluntary leaves, work-rule modifications and attrition. The airline will resort to furloughs if it doesn't reach its target with voluntary programs.
The fee for the first checked bag applies to tickets sold on or after July 10 for travel starting Aug. 28 within the U.S. and from the U.S. to Canada. Elite frequent-flyers and full-fare coach passengers are exempt from paying.
For award tickets issued in North America on or after Sept. 15, Northwest will charge $25 for domestic tickets, $50 for transatlantic travel and $100 for transpacific travel.
“This is a temporary service fee to partially offset our fuel costs,” Steenland said. “As fuel comes down, we will revisit this decision.”
Delta, which recently implemented a similar fee on award travel, also said it was temporary.
Northwest followed moves by American, United, Continental and US Airways to increase fees for ticket changes. Starting July 9, the fee for domestic, nonrefundable ticket changes will increase from $100 to $150. International ticket change fees also will increase to $150 per ticket, depending on class of service and other restrictions.
US Airways Pulls Movies from Some Flights
Gay Nagle Myers, Travel Weekly, 7/9/2008
On Nov. 1, US Airways will remove in-flight movies from domestic A320 flights of over two-and-a-half hours and flights to the Caribbean and Mexico.
US Airways said the move is expected to save the airline $10 million a year in fuel and other costs, according to Travis Christ, vice president for sales and marketing. The video systems add about 500 pounds to a plane's weight, increasing fuel use.
USAirways also decided to pull the movies because the number of passengers paying $5 for headsets has dropped.
"We simply can't afford to do it anymore," Christ said.Midwest Airlines Cuts Workforce by 40%
AP, USA Today, 7/14/2008 (excerpted)
Midwest Airlines said on Monday it will reduce its work force by 1,200 people as it grounds its 12 MD-80s.
The cuts represent about 40% of current staffing at Midwest and its Skyway subsidiary. Besides the MD-80s — which it is flying until this fall — Midwest also flies 25 Boeing 717s.
"In order to successfully restructure, there is no way to avoid deep and painful reductions to our current work force," said Timothy E. Hoeksema, chairman and chief executive, in a statement.
The company said it would begin notifying affected employees Monday, with most jobs ended by mid-September. The job cuts will include unionized pilots and flight attendants, said Michael Brophy, a spokesman for Oak Creek, Wis.-based Midwest Air Group Inc.