Northwest Airlines has reached a tentative agreement on a new
contract with its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association
(ALPA).The agreement, which is subject to
approval by the union’s master executive council and by Northwest’s
ALPA-represented employees, includes $358 million
in labor and benefit 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
reach the tentative agreement with ALPA.

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.ÊÊ On March 1,
the Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA) and Northwest announced
that the parties had reached a tentative agreement on a new contract.

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 remains focused on its plan to
realize $2.5 billion in annual business improvements in order to return the
company to profitability on a sustained basis.Ê
The restructuring plan is centered on three goals: resizing and
optimization of the airline’s fleet to better serve Northwest’s markets;
realizing competitive labor and non-labor costs; and restructuring and
recapitalization of the airline’s balance sheet.
——-