Northwest flight cancellations soar

[Pieter C. 5]

Northwest's Flight Cancellation Rate Soars

 

July 31, 2007

Northwest's Flight Cancellation Rate Soars

 

Northwest Airlines canceled an unusually high number of flights over the weekend, blaming a spike in pilot absenteeism for the disruption.

 

Northwest said it could not give a reason for the high rate of absenteeism, but the union representing the pilots has linked it to inadequate staffing during the peak summer travel season.

 

A Northwest spokesman said the carrier completed about 92 percent of its scheduled flights on Friday and Saturday compared with about 99 percent which is more typical for the airline.

 

"We expect today's operations to improve," Northwest spokesman Roman Blahoski said.

 

A surge in cancellations recently comes at a particularly bad time for the airline, which is trying to build momentum for its recovery after a 20 month bankruptcy reorganization that ended in May. Northwest suffered a similar surge in cancellations in late June.

 

In a note to employees on Friday, Chief Executive Doug Steenland said the carrier is cutting its August flight schedule, recalling furloughed pilots and planning to hire more pilots.

 

Northwest is set to report is second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Mohamad Othman 0]

Hopefully NW 321 MSP-LAX this coming Thursday is not going to be canceled/delayed since I'm going to be aboard !!

2 1/2 hours between flight connection. That's when I have to run from terminal 2 to Tom Bradley, report to INS (hate this one REALLY much ) check in again at MH counter bla.. bla.. bla..

 

let's keep the fingers crossed..

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Northwest Airlines Posts Quarterly Profit

 

August 1, 2007

Northwest Airlines reported a second-quarter profit that was inflated by reorganization items, reversing a year-ago loss.

 

Northwest, which completed a bankruptcy reorganization in May, said on Tuesday profit was USD$2.15 billion, compared with a loss of USD$285 million a year earlier.

 

Excluding items related to its reorganization, Northwest said it earned USD$273 million in the quarter, compared with a profit of USD$179 million in the year-ago period.

 

The airline said its operating revenue slipped 3.3 percent in the quarter to USD$3.2 billion.

 

Northwest said it paid USD$849 million for fuel, a 4.2 percent decline in its biggest expense. The company's labor costs declined 8.6 percent to USD$617 million.

 

Northwest suffered an unusually high number of flight cancellations in the last few days of June, blaming a spike in pilot absenteeism. The problem recurred in July.

 

The airline says it cannot explain the high rate of absences, but the union representing the pilots says the airline simply has too few pilots operating the busy summer schedule.

 

(Reuters)

 

Northwest posts $2.15 billion profit but suffers from 'pilot absenteeism'

 

Wednesday August 1, 2007

One-time noncash gains related to its emergence from bankruptcy in May propelled Northwest Airlines to a net profit of $2.15 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, significantly reversed from a net loss of $285 million in the year-ago period when it was operating under Chapter 11 protection.

 

Excluding reorganization items, NWA reported a pre-tax profit for the period of $273 million, up 52.5% compared to earnings of $179 million on a similar basis in the year-ago period.

 

President and CEO Doug Steenland said the carrier is "on very stable footing long-term," but spent most of yesterday's conference call with analysts and reporters answering questions related to the ongoing operational difficulties that include hundreds of cancelled flights in the past several days and a steady string of cancellations and delays since June.

 

He called NWA's operational performance in the past two months "unacceptable" and said pilots using sick and family leave have left the carrier with crew shortages. "We're not making a judgment [on the absences' legitimacy]," he said. "The facts speak for themselves."

 

He noted the airline is slashing mainline domestic capacity by 4%, has plans to hire new pilots, and work schedules will be tweaked to "build enough buffer" so that cancellations can be avoided if "levels of pilot absenteeism we've seen" continue. The goal is to reduce the number of scheduled flying hours per month per pilot to 84 or fewer from 90. Next month, maximum scheduled flying hours for narrowbody pilots will be 86.

 

Steenland added that management is "in the midst of ongoing discussions" with the Air Line Pilots Assn. but declined to provide details. NWA said it has received "several hundred" applications from prospective pilot candidates.

 

Second-quarter revenue declined 3.3% to $3.18 billion as expenses dropped 5.7% to $2.82 billion, producing operating income of $357 million, up 21% over $295 million last year.

 

Mainline traffic rose 0.2% to 18.8 billion RPMs on a 1.6% lift in capacity to 21.9 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 85.9%, down 1.2 points. Mainline yield dipped 0.2% to 12.90 cents as passenger RASM fell 1.5% to 11.08 cents and passenger services CASM decreased 4.7% to 10.47 cents. Mainline CASM ex-fuel declined 5.2% to 7.05 cents.

 

 

 

[Radzi 2]

Pilots hitting maximum hours perhaps?

[Pieter C. 5]

Pilots hitting maximum hours perhaps?

 

90 flying hours a month ???

I make about 160 !!!

 

Northwest, Pilots Reach Tentative Agreement

 

August 2, 2007

Northwest Airlines and the union representing its pilots have reached a tentative deal that may prevent spikes in the airline's flight cancellations like those seen in late June and late July, the airline said on Wednesday.

 

The airline said it obtained contractual changes on several work rules pertaining to international flying, and the settlement of outstanding grievances. In exchange, Northwest agreed to reinstate premium pay of 50 percent for all pilots for any flying over 80 hours, effective August 1.

 

The agreement is subject to ratification by the Northwest Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council.

 

Northwest also said it has proposed a Summer Reliability Incentive Program under which all contract employees, including pilots, will receive incentive pay equal to 15 percent of eligible earnings up to USD$1,000 if they achieve perfect attendance between August 4 and September 3.

 

That proposal also is subject to ratification by the pilots' union.

 

A Northwest spokesman said on Monday the carrier completed about 92 percent of its scheduled flights from July 27-29 compared with the rate of about 99 percent that is more typical for the airline. A surge in cancellations cost Northwest USD$25 million in lost revenue in the second quarter.

 

Northwest suffered the extraordinarily high cancellation rates at the end of the last two months, blaming the problem on "pilot absenteeism." The airline has not given a reason for the absences.

 

The Air Line Pilots Association, however, said absenteeism is not the problem. Rather, it said, the cancellations result from the airline having too few pilots to work the busy summer flying schedule.

 

Work rules the pilots agreed to during the carrier's 20-month bankruptcy, which ended in May, often require pilots to spend more time in the air.

 

Government rules permit pilots to fly longer hours, but Northwest's system has exhausted the workers, who routinely fly up to 90 hours a month, said ALPA spokesman Monty Montgomery.

 

Furthermore, the workers were not paid at a higher rate for working more than their required hours. The previous contract offered that incentive.

 

As a result, the pilots simply are not volunteering to work beyond the number of hours they are required to fly, he said.

 

Northwest and ALPA agreed to the new contract as part of the carrier's effort to cut is labor costs by USD$1.4 billion a year.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Andrew Ong 1]

Northwest said that they are going to call back some of the pilot thats they laid off during their Ch11 bankruptcy last year, is this true? (I got this info from the news)

Edited August 2, 2007 by Andrew Ong

[Radzi 2]

90 flying hours a month ???

I make about 160 !!!

 

Pieter, you were on duty 160 hours a month. How many aircraft has crashed because you were tired and exhausted?

 

Anyway 90 flying hours equates to a lot more than that on duty hours, especially for the short haul fleet.

 

Government rules permit pilots to fly longer hours, but Northwest's system has exhausted the workers, who routinely fly up to 90 hours a month, said ALPA spokesman Monty Montgomery.

 

Furthermore, the workers were not paid at a higher rate for working more than their required hours. The previous contract offered that incentive.

 

As a result, the pilots simply are not volunteering to work beyond the number of hours they are required to fly, he said.

 

Apparently some smart management moves to save a few dollars. Nothing new, happens everywhere around the world. Penny-wise, pound -foolish management.

 

 

[Pieter C. 5]

One of those measures ?

 

Northwest Airlines told travel agents that it will suspend its Detroit-Brussels service in mid-month, citing "operational challenges" with the cockpit crew of the 757-200s that operate the route. NWA launched the service in early May. It previously said it would drop its second Detroit-Frankfurt frequency in order to free up 757 pilots.

 

Can confirm this, as KLC was requested to operate F100 i.s.o. F70 on KL1724 on 17/18/19aug, due to rebooking of the above passengers via AMS to DTW