Northwest Airlines has reached a tentative agreement on a new
contract with its flight attendants represented by the Professional Flight
Attendants Association.The agreement, which is subject to
ratification by Northwest’s PFAA-represented employees, includes $195 million in
labor cost savings toward the airline’s requirement to reduce its annual labor
costs by $1.4 billion.

ÊÊÊ Northwest said that it was pleased to have
reached a tentative agreement with its flight attendants union.

ÊÊÊ The airline remains in contract discussions
with its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).Ê Earlier
today, the trial on Northwest’s
Section 1113(c) motion, asking the court to reject the company’s collective
bargaining agreement with ALPA, concluded in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of New York.Ê The
judge will rule on the motion in the near future.

ÊÊÊ Currently, the International Association
of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents Northwest’s ground
employees, is presenting the company’s contract settlement proposal to its
members for ratification.Ê

ÊÊÊ To date, permanent wage and benefit
reduction agreements have been ratified by Northwest employees represented by
the Aircraft Technical Support Association (ATSA), the Transport Workers Union
of America (TWU), and the Northwest Airlines Meteorologists Association
(NAMA).Ê In addition, two rounds of
salaried and management employee pay and benefit cuts have been implemented and
the needed aircraft maintenance employee labor cost savings have been achieved.

ÊÊÊ Northwest has said that achieving
competitive labor costs is essential to the success of the airline’s business
plan.Ê The combination of competitive
labor costs and completion of the other aspects of Northwest’s restructuring
will allow the airline to be a successful long-term competitor and provide the
most secure future for the company.
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