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Troubled Northwest Strikes New Deal With Pilots

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 2, 2007

Anxious to overcome massive end-of-month cancellations created primarily by pilots who reached mandatory limits on flying time, the carrier has concluded a deal that will rework pay rates for captains.

The new arrangement, worked out with the Northwest pilots union, will pay pilots time-and-a-half for every hour they work beyond 80 hours per month. Previously, Northwest pilots could work 90 hours a month at their regular salaries but volunteer for up to 10 hours of overtime to meet the universal 100-hour maximum established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Pilot shortages, caused by understaffing and unexpected "sick" calls, contributed to hundreds of cancellations during the last weeks of June and July.

To avoid a repeat in August, the Minneapolis-based carrier has reduced its schedule by 4 per cent, recalled furloughed pilots, and agreed to hire new ones. The combination of fewer flights, more pilots, and better scheduling should help.

Northwest has been beset by big-time problems, including Chapter 11 bankruptcy, poor labor relations, and the oldest fleet in the sky (its average plane is 18 years old).

Coupled with such industry-wide woes as skyrocketing fuel prices, packed planes, and terrorism concerns, the nation’s sixth-largest airline nearly went the way of the buffalo nickel and Sunday doubleheader.

Somehow, it survived, emerging from bankruptcy court protection on May 31. Four of the seven legacy carriers, including Northwest, previously completed bankruptcy reorganization.

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