Northwest Cancels Hundreds of Flights
By SUSAN CAREY, The Wall Street Journal,
Posted: 2007-07-30 10:36:50
Filed Under: Business News
Northwest Airlines Corp., which has been struggling for a month with a pilot shortage that is forcing it to cancel abnormally high numbers of flights, yesterday said it suffered increased cancellations over the weekend as a result of a "significant spike" in absenteeism by some pilots assigned to narrowbody planes.
George Ruhe, AP Northwest, which completed just 92 percent of its scheduled flights between Friday and Sunday, blamed pilot absenteeism for the service disruptions.
Northwest, the nation's fifth-largest airline by traffic, said it completed just 92% of its scheduled flights between Friday and yesterday. An airline spokesman declined to give more detail about the Eagan, Minn., airline's disrupted schedule. Normally, airlines complete 98% or 99% of their scheduled flights.
The company ran short of pilots toward the end of last month and had to cut 10% to 15% of its daily flights, moves it blamed on a huge increase in pilot sick calls and other absences. Federal regulations and union contracts limit how many hours a month pilots can fly. Late in the month, airlines sometimes run short of staff. In response, the company said it dropped one European flight permanently, planned to cut its domestic capacity next month by 3% and redoubled efforts to recall pilots on furlough.
When the problems began cropping up again last week, Northwest said it precanceled some flights. It also decided to pare its domestic capacity in August by 4% instead of 3%, and said it will hire 250 to 350 pilots.
Monty Montgomery, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association branch at Northwest, on Friday said this "is and always has been a staffing problem." He said the union notified the company about this months ago.
"There is absolutely no attempt by Northwest pilots to disrupt the schedule," he said.
Northwest, which emerged from bankruptcy-court protection two months ago, used the process to win concessionary labor contracts. The new conditions have provoked widespread unhappiness. The airline has been careful not to accuse the pilots of an illegal job action.
By SUSAN CAREY, The Wall Street Journal,
Posted: 2007-07-30 10:36:50
Filed Under: Business News
Northwest Airlines Corp., which has been struggling for a month with a pilot shortage that is forcing it to cancel abnormally high numbers of flights, yesterday said it suffered increased cancellations over the weekend as a result of a "significant spike" in absenteeism by some pilots assigned to narrowbody planes.
Northwest, the nation's fifth-largest airline by traffic, said it completed just 92% of its scheduled flights between Friday and yesterday. An airline spokesman declined to give more detail about the Eagan, Minn., airline's disrupted schedule. Normally, airlines complete 98% or 99% of their scheduled flights.
The company ran short of pilots toward the end of last month and had to cut 10% to 15% of its daily flights, moves it blamed on a huge increase in pilot sick calls and other absences. Federal regulations and union contracts limit how many hours a month pilots can fly. Late in the month, airlines sometimes run short of staff. In response, the company said it dropped one European flight permanently, planned to cut its domestic capacity next month by 3% and redoubled efforts to recall pilots on furlough.
When the problems began cropping up again last week, Northwest said it precanceled some flights. It also decided to pare its domestic capacity in August by 4% instead of 3%, and said it will hire 250 to 350 pilots.
Monty Montgomery, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association branch at Northwest, on Friday said this "is and always has been a staffing problem." He said the union notified the company about this months ago.
"There is absolutely no attempt by Northwest pilots to disrupt the schedule," he said.
Northwest, which emerged from bankruptcy-court protection two months ago, used the process to win concessionary labor contracts. The new conditions have provoked widespread unhappiness. The airline has been careful not to accuse the pilots of an illegal job action.
