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By Ted Reed
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
6/25/2007 3:18 PM EDT
Northwest (NWA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) has cancelled more than 500 flights over the past four days, apparently because of crew shortages.
The cancellations could be a precursor to problems that will plague travelers throughout the summer if airline pilots -- frustrated by reduced compensation and increased work hours -- are unwilling or unable to volunteer to fly beyond their normal scheduled hours.
According to FlightStats.com, Northwest called off 453 flights from Friday through Sunday. More than 125 additional flights were taken off the schedule by midday Monday. Minnesota-based Northwest operates about 1,400 daily departures.
"This staffing problem is something we have pointed out for a long time," said Wade Blaufuss, spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association. "The company wants to operate the airline at the red line. It looks great on paper, but intangibles like fatigue and morale and stress don't show up on a balance sheet."
A Northwest spokesman declined to immediately comment. The carrier is just weeks removed from its emergence from bankruptcy protection.
Federal regulations limit pilots to flying 1,000 hours a year and 100 hours a month. Normally, airlines fly heavier schedules in the summer, when travel surges, and rely at times on volunteers to enable them to operate a full schedule.
"It looks like Northwest got the short straw," said Meara McLaughlin, spokeswoman for FlightStats, which compiles flight statistics for various travel businesses. "At this point, the system is so tightly wound that if you just have reduced staffing or bad weather or airport congestion or a VIP flying through, you [quickly] get to the breaking point."
Andy Wisbacher, spokesman for the Northwest chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants, said he has had three A320 flights cancelled in the past two weeks due to a shortage of pilot crews.
"I can only imagine that Northwest knew about this going into the summer and didn't plan properly," he said. "I expect it will go on through the summer."
Glad to hear rumors of MECs working together for mutual benefit.
One List would be a whole lot better than a bi-directional flow through.
Any news on if pass benefit changes, loss of longevity and probationary pay can be negotiated away?
NorthWest would not be many people's first choice for a mainline carrier, especially if they had a halfway bearable job at a small jet carrier. NorthWest may actually need some help in the future -or even right now....
Baloney.
Remember, this is the MEC that got a $15 million bargaining credit for diverting growth from Mesaba and Pinnacle while standing up another alter ego carrier so that your flying may be sub contracted to the "preferred" airline staffed by Northwest furloughees.
Yeah, Mesaba is giving up something for this and probably something significant further reducing working conditions at the low end so that a few senior pilots might pass through to the promised land while Northwest is hiring off the street or drawing from Compass.
Read point 7 first:
http://www.rjdefense.com/2003/10_Things_About_Scope.pdf
A one list would probably be valued at $400-$500 million dollar loss to NWA. It's truly sad that the MEC won't force a confrontation, there is really no better time than now. How does a metered flowback help any NWA pilot?That'd be cool. I think it'd be even cooler if the MEC(s) had simply pulled the trigger on a PID and expedited the Single Carrier Status petition. But since I'm not an officer, all I can do is bark at my reps to push for that, and accept what they do accomplish.
RE: 1. I don't see many "senior" pilots going for the flow-thru.
Do you see where I left my car keys? Do you see AT&T stock going up more than 10% in the next 6-months?
Thanks in advance!
RE: 2. NW is NOT the promised land!
If only your view was a first-person observation.
I'm not sure any airline can be described by a rational person as the "promised land". The question is, and has always been: Is it better'n what you got now?
If your answer is "no", the solution is easy...stay the heck away. Best part? You have 100% control over that solution.
RE: 3. It'll work for some, and not for others...that's just it's nature.
Agree! Not that it's difficult to agree with a statement as ambiguous as that.
RE: 4. Have you ever met a HAPPY NW employee?
Heck yeah! I'm one of 'em! My mood and attitude are Personal intellectual choices. They aren't controled by dweebs like NWA management. I pity the simps who allow their boss to influence their blood pressure.
RE: 5. If I'm going to be unhappy, I'm going to be SENIOR and unhappy, NOT on the bottom of a reserve list in DTW getting tricked out in a crappy -9 by some NW scheduling pimp, and UNHAPPY!
Sounds like you got it all figured out. Good for you. I encourage all pilots to view their career options with the same clinical eye. If it couldn't possibly be better for you elsewhere...stay where you are.