Northwest appears to have beaten its cancellation problem
AP, USA TODAY, 9/4/2007
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Northwest Airlines is ending August without the waves of cancellations that plagued it earlier this summer.
Northwest canceled just two flights on Thursday, and 10 on Wednesday, well under 1% of its schedule on both days, according to FlightStats.com. On four days this month the airline completed 100% of its flights, spokesman Roman Blahoski said.
It was canceling more than 100 flights a day in some of the final days of June and July when it couldn't find enough pilots to keep the planes flying. The airline blamed "absenteeism" by pilots. Their union said pilots who called in sick were exhausted by a new, tougher schedule.
On Aug. 1, the airline reached a deal aimed at reducing cancellations. It reduced the number of hours pilots would routinely be expected to fly. Northwest also said it would pay union workers a bonus of up to 15% of their pay — up to $1,000 — for perfect attendance through Labor Day.
Northwest also reduced its August schedule by 4% and recalled furloughed pilots, and it has said it plans to hire as many as 350 new pilots in the coming year. Blahoski said Northwest has gotten 2,175 applications for those jobs. About 40 recalled pilots are being trained each month, Blahoski said, and 289 of those are back in the air.
"I think the changes that we have implemented are working, and our operation is showing that," he said.