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Northwest Hopes to Cancel Employee Contracts

Delta's Comair to Cut 1,000 Jobs

October 13, 2005
Bankrupt Northwest Airlines, squeezed by soaring fuel costs, is squeezing its employee unions again. The carrier is asking a federal bankruptcy judge to impose wage and benefit cuts if it fails to win $1.4 billion in voluntary concessions.

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Facing similar pressures, Delta's Comair said it will cut up to 1,000 jobs and trim its fleet by about 30 aircraft as its bankrupt parent struggles to reorganize.

Bankruptcy rules give Northwest and its unions 51 days to come to terms before a judge can nullify existing contracts and implement new ones. Northwest said it needs to slash a total of $2.5 billion in expenses to stay in business.

The Professional Flight Attendants Association said it was disappointed, but not surprised, by the airline’s move in filing what is known as a 1113c request. “We’ve certainly been expecting this since Northwest Airlines entered bankruptcy protection last month,” said union president Guy Meek.

Northwest is seeking $195 million in concessions from its flight attendants union, plus another $358 million from its pilots and $190 million from its ground workers. The carrier has already replaced striking machinists, and says it trimmed about $200 million with that action.

Comair

Regional airline Comair, meanwhile, plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs, or 14 percent of its work force, and shed up to one-fifth of its fleet. Comair said it would also seek to reduce wages and benefits for its pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, as well as executives' salaries.

The belt-tightening throughout the airline industry is squeezing regional feeder carriers whose profits previously were guaranteed in the form of fixed compensation from their larger affiliated airlines. Delta has said it plans to amend its connection agreement, cutting its payments to Comair.

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